WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

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◈ Omniscient First-Person's Viewpoint

Chapter 110

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Beast, Beast King, Human - 6

"Still! There is something I want to ask!"

It was only for a moment, but the lieutenant general failed to hide his impatience and glanced up toward the top of the Abyss, like someone waiting for something to fall.

Maybe it still was not time, because the endless darkness of that vast space remained unchanged. Ebon lowered his gaze and looked at the immortal.

'Immortal Rashy said he tore apart and killed the one who insulted his tribe. I thought he was a typical barbarian, easy to use, someone who only cared about honor and grudges and ignored laws and rules... but he's completely different from what I expected. Even so, I can still use him.'

Ebon masked himself with calm again and spoke.

"What is it?"

The immortal answered with slight discomfort and great curiosity.

"The lieutenant colonel who served under you. She clearly came here under your orders, so why did you try to kill her?"

Ebon gave a faint grin and replied.

"Easy question. Because she betrayed us."

"Is that reason enough to die?"

"Also, her life was the most suitable for achieving the goal. She happened to be there, and she was linked to the King of Dogs by a chain. Besides that, well, there were several other reasons. From my perspective, there was no reason not to use her."

"I see."

"Why, were you curious about that reason? Unexpected. Aren't you an immortal, someone for whom the concept of death is faint? Yet her death left that much of an impression on you?"

"It left more of an impression than usual. But her death was not the only thing that impressed me."

The immortal gave a heavy nod.

"Death is rare for us. Even if we are stabbed by swords, scorched by fire, torn to pieces and scattered across the ground, we return someday. Curses aside, ordinary diseases do not touch us. Even the rare deaths we do have are seen as returning to Mother Earth's embrace before we become too wretched, so at someone's funeral, instead of grieving, everyone gathers to laugh and talk."

His words carried signs of deep thought. In response to that seriousness, Ebon answered with due respect.

"That sounds like heaven. Death comes suddenly to us. Worse, there is too much of it. Unprepared death is routine, and permanent loss is everywhere around us. Sometimes someone gets promoted just because their superior dies while they're standing still. It's also common for a colonel you had coffee with last week to be replaced out of nowhere by someone else. Unlike you, when our bodies are torn apart, that's the end."

It was an answer with its own reflection behind it. But the immortal still did not understand.

"I know that too. That's why I understand even less. People who die as easily as you do, who know how fragile and precious life is, still kill and die so easily. As if they do not know life's value."

"It is not that we do not know life's value. We simply strive for things more precious than that. If life will be lost anyway, shouldn't it be spent on something with greater value?"

Their answers crossed each other. But the immortal realized this was a difference in perspective and shook his head.

"Our perspectives differ. I believe the easier something is to lose, the more valuable it is."

"Because life is easy to lose, we become more obsessed with what lasts forever. If life must be lost anyway, we want to spend it seeking unchanging value."

"The lieutenant colonel desired life."

"Then isn't it natural that we felt betrayed? Her actions broke our promise. I believe someone like you, who understands life's value, would also understand the value of a promise."

The exchange ended. The immortal wore a solemn expression as he reflected on what they had just said.

After watching him briefly, Ebon asked to confirm.

"Then you will not stop me. Since my life is precious too."

The immortal spoke with difficulty.

"...You stabbed my friend's back, but that must have been a matter between the lieutenant colonel and you. I do not think I have the right to interfere."

"Thank you for understanding."

"I will not blame you. I only hope that because of my judgment, the lieutenant colonel and others do not end up in danger."

"Do not worry. I have already suffered a terrible failure, and I have even lost my right arm. I have no other methods left now. The lieutenant colonel will not be in danger."

Ebon calmly strung together lies. It was the polished lie of a secret organization's executive.

The immortal closed his eyes. It was a silent sign that he would pretend not to see. Noticing that, Ebon smiled in satisfaction. It was such a natural movement that no one would imagine he was a man with his right arm cut off and blood dripping down.

But then.

"Lieutenant General, wait a second!"

"Ah, laborer, you were there too."

When I stepped forward, Ebon naturally turned his gaze to me. Outwardly, he answered with a friendly smile.

"The ability you showed at the end was impressive. Haha. I was truly shocked then. Who would have thought you'd dismantle the claw instead of the chain. Even I didn't see that coming."

'Damn it, the final plan got wrecked because of that. It was improvised, but that was exactly why nothing should have interfered! If not for the Progenitor, I'd have killed that laborer from the start!!'

Lieutenant General Ebon answered smoothly while hiding his true thoughts. From a mind reader's point of view, it was pretty chilling. It was rare to see someone with this wide a gap between inside and out.

I shrugged and replied.

"Don't you need her dog tag? The colonel is dead. She died in action, so you should take her tag if you want to verify it!"

The dog tag. A thing the military state prepared to honor those who died in battle.

For soldiers who never reached Level 4, the compensation delivered to their families after death was practically their only true inheritance. The dog tag was required for that, so soldiers treasured it as much as their own lives.

There was even a saying: "If you cannot leave behind an intact body, then at least leave behind an intact dog tag."

That was why collecting a fallen soldier's dog tag was courtesy between soldiers, and a virtue, and a duty.

But Ebon, waiting for the door to open so he could escape, could not accept that. Going down and running into a dangerous existence like the regressor would be a problem too.

Ebon smiled as he spoke.

"What need is there for a dog tag? I am a general. My testimony is enough."

"Uh, but you still need a dog tag... and honestly, Lieutenant Colonel Calpatz Curis, I saved her on reflex, but she's in critical condition. What if she stays here and dies later?"

My words were wrapped in concern.

As the escape timing drew near, Ebon grew more impatient. He replied carelessly just to shake me off.

"Do not worry. I will mention Lieutenant Colonel Calpatz in my report. I will report that she is focused on recovery...."

And then he took the bait.

Lords of All Creation was organized in cells. To prepare for unexpected situations, they passed information through coded metaphors, and referred to each other in secret so their identities would not be exposed.

Even if one was a "sponsor," they did not know the beneficiary's face or name.

Callis had been shocked when she learned her sponsor's identity, and even the lieutenant general failed to recognize Callis immediately when he saw her face.

That same Ebon accepted what I said about Calpatz without question.

Thanks to that, the immortal opened his eyes.

"Excuse me."

The immortal's voice was one note lower than before. The easy laugh that had brushed aside even being stabbed through the body was gone too.

"Say that again. What was the lieutenant colonel's name?"

All that remained was the anger of someone who had caught a lie.

"Lieutenant Colonel Calpatz, wasn't it? Her surname, hmm. I do not remember. The military state does not value surnames much...."

"Wrong. Her name is Callis. Callis Kritz."

For a moment, troubled light flashed in Ebon's eyes. At the same time, hostility toward me swelled. Along with the disgust of being trapped, he threw murderous intent at the one who set the trap.

You thought wrong, Lieutenant General Ebon. Being embarrassed is fine.

But if you go as far as murderous intent, what decision do you think the immortal will make?

Ebon quickly scrambled to recover.

"Ah, it seems I was mistaken. That laborer just misspoke...."

"She was an excellent warrior. She fought fiercely with life itself to survive, and to the very end she was a warrior who resisted death. I respect her."

"So do I."

You said "death to traitors," didn't you? Ha. Even the immortal wouldn't believe that.

"I believed what your side sought was truly precious. Like honor, like pride, something worth obtaining even by enduring pain."

"That is correct. For humanity's great wish, we...."

"But if it was so important that you ordered someone to die for it."

The immortal repeated himself as he took one step forward.

"Then at the very least, should you not honor that name? That is a virtue one must keep even before promises. Even we, who hold no solemnity in death, do that. Yet from you, Lieutenant General, I see no respect at all for the one who died for you."

"My apologies. I...."

"Do not apologize. The one who should receive that apology is not here. In any case, I now know you have no right to denounce the lieutenant colonel. Then."

His left hand clenched powerfully at empty air. Even so, a sound rose as if stone were being compacted.

Creak.

Lifting his rock-hard fist, Rashy said expressionlessly,

"Let's settle this with just three hits. You tore my body apart, injured my friend, and insulted even her honor. Isn't that enough?"

For Ebon, who needed to prepare his escape soon, it was an offer he could never accept. Ebon twisted his face and pulled out a war-suit packet with his intact left hand.

He had removed that war-suit packet to lighten himself after losing to the regressor. Biting it in his mouth, he plugged it into the biometric terminal on his left arm. Brilliant alchemic light covered his upper body.

"...I am not in perfect condition, but."

The parts damaged or broken in the previous battle stayed damaged. Since he had dismissed an already damaged war-suit and reassembled it, the joints were rough, and residual magical energy leaked out in thin streams from the damaged sections.

From his missing right arm, directionless alchemsteel poured down in threads. Because of that, his right shoulder guard and chest plate also failed to take proper shape.

Even so.

For Ebon, who had no weapon, even a single claw formed on his left hand was precious.

"Immortals trust their regeneration and drag fights into endurance battles. But here in the Abyss, not on the surface, do you really think you can beat me?"

"Who knows."

In contrast, the immortal still had nothing but his deathless body and two fists. The only thing different from usual was this: his fists now held clear hostility.

The immortal clenched his fist and answered.

"Still, I can land three hits."

The will to crush an enemy, rarely seen in immortals, was aimed straight at Ebon.

"This time, even if your body gets torn apart, do not resent me for it!"

Ebon charged first.

'Don't underestimate him. I'm injured. I only have one arm left. I don't have much strength either, so I have to end this as quickly as possible.'

His right arm was gone and his whole body was battered, yet Ebon still held razor-sharp tension. He slid toward the immortal and thrust his claw.

Instead of dodging or observing his opponent, the immortal opened his right hand and reached toward the claw.

'Is he planning to stick his fingers between the blades and grab it? Idiot!'

The immortal did not even raise his other hand. If he wanted to attack, it would be wise to target Ebon's right side where his arm was missing below the elbow, yet he insisted on facing him head-on. The immortal's arrogance, or carelessness.

In a fair frontal clash, Ebon with a weapon had the advantage. Ebon wrapped the claw in energy and struck.

'I'll cut those fingers off first! Then split your whole body from your fingertips up!'

So Ebon twisted the blade to aim for the immortal's fingers. The blade glowing with blue energy moved to sever them.

Tap, and it caught on bone.

'What?!'

Impossible. Without energy reinforcement, maybe. But there was no reason a claw with edge and recoil should get stuck on mere bone. Even if it caught, it should have cut through or pushed past.

The only explanation for the claw getting stuck now was that the immortal's bones had hardened.

As Ebon stared in shock, he heard a crunching sound by his ear, like something being chewed.

There was a ginkgo leaf in the immortal's mouth.

"Mother Earth."

The immortal murmured low, then tightened his grip with his right hand. A sacred ginkgo leaf. Veins spread from that leaf as it settled into the immortal's body.

This place was the Abyss, land abandoned by Mother Earth. But the immortal's body, offered to Mother Earth, resembled soil itself.

Leaves born in spring served the tree, and when their use ended, they fell and rotted into earth. That small cycle around one tree continued until the end of their lives.

Now buried in soil at last, the ginkgo leaf could rot in peace, to return the vital essence it had held as a World Tree leaf back to Mother Earth.

Krrk. The claw blade was caught by flesh and trembled. Ebon hurriedly tried to pull it free, but fixed in place, it would not come out.

At last Ebon realized what that power was and ground his teeth.

'Energy...! This is a kind of energy too! Reinforcing the body itself!'

"You bastard, did you grasp Kan...!"

The immortal, gripping the claw, answered indifferently.

"I do not care what the military state calls it. I simply made my body harder."

Ebon struggled to pull his claw free. He twisted it, shook it, pushed and pulled.

The claw did not move at all.

It was not lodged in bone by mistake, nor caught in muscle. The energy wrapped around the blade should have let it shake off most of that.

The only reason the claw was not moving now was simple: the immortal was gripping it.

'This barbarian's energy...! It rivals mine!'

The overwhelming difference in force made it impossible to shake him off.

With no right arm, Ebon could not strip the claw away.

His left arm trapped, Ebon could only watch from point-blank range as the immortal clenched and raised his left fist. Even for him, it was enough to chill his guts.

Ebon shouted.

"You... should not be able to draw power in the Abyss!"

"That's true. But I have a sacred ginkgo leaf."

A World Tree leaf so precious he had treasured it over and over. The immortal had originally planned to offer that leaf to Mother Earth the moment he returned to the surface.

At least, until he decided to hit Ebon.

'Why does he still have that...! He didn't use it to wake Rashy?!'

When Ebon realized that, he shouted desperately.

"I was the one who gave that to Lieutenant Colonel Calpatz! Me! I woke you, not Calpatz! You should help me!"

He cried out with one thread of hope, but got only a cold answer.

"Wrong. A World Tree leaf belongs to Mother Earth. Only the keeper's name changes. In the end, it is Mother Earth's grace. There is no need to thank everyone who temporarily kept this leaf. One only needs to accept the heart placed inside the leaf."

Then Immortal Rashy pulled his left fist far back and added one more line.

"Also, your subordinate's name was Callis. Remember it."

Crunch.

The immortal's straight punch slammed into Ebon's face, where the helmet had not fully formed.

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