WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 565: The Ash-Covered Sin and the Skin-Stitched God - 5

──────

Though their methods differed, every Holy Maiden possessed the power to see the future. Some saw realities that had yet to arrive, some saw their own unchanging future selves, and some read causality.

Even among them, though, the future seen by the Holy Maiden of Heaven was particularly strange.

Maiél, the Holy Maiden of Heaven, forced the future into being.

I didn't know the exact principle. Every Holy Maiden's power came from the First Holy Maiden, so even Maiél herself didn't fully understand it. The regressor, who had heard of it in another future, only had a vague grasp of it as well.

Still, according to the regressor's memories, Maiél, the Holy Maiden of Heaven, could “choose” the future at every moment.

A future where Nevida did not exist. A future where Nevida was wounded. A future that stripped Nevida from the world, moment by moment. She wielded the authority to see the future as pure power.

Wind, clouds, temperature, light. Unlike Mother Earth, steadfast and unchanging, every force of the ever-changing Celestial God converged against Nevida. She forced one worst-case possibility after another into reality, unleashing disasters meant to kill a single person.

That was why Maiél was overwhelmingly powerful even among the Holy Maidens. Holy Maidens normally lacked combat power, which was why they created the Holy Sword Corps as their personal military escort. But the Holy Maiden of Heaven was strong enough to face a nation alone.

If her opponent had been anyone ordinary, Maiél would have erased them from this world simply by dreaming.

This opponent, however, was no ordinary being.

“Light is fleeting. It fades faster than a single flower.”

A small leafy branch brushed past the Holy Maiden of Heaven's body of light. The branch that dared strike the Holy Maiden shriveled and burned in an instant, but the path carved by its leaves was visibly damaged.

Plants grew from the earth, taking in light and water. They turned heaven's grace into their own lives. They were devourers of light. In that brief moment, the leaves Nevida had “improved” greedily swallowed the light.

Maiél spoke calmly, as though she had expected this.

[Survivor. You, who know that life and death are a cycle, still cannot let go and continue clinging to the dead?]

“And yet you serve a dead harlot yourselves.”

Nevida mocked Maiél and raised her hand. She held a small branch in her dry, hard hand, like the hand of an old tree.

“Is there anything more to say? My master is my lord. Yours is a harlot who betrayed her lord and took another lover. Should we not follow the natural order and test our strength to determine right from wrong?”

[Not everything can be resolved through strength. That is why the King of Humanity disappeared from this land. If humanity is to become truly noble, it must abandon the logic of strength.]

“No. My lord disappeared because your harlot betrayed my lord.”

After saying that, Nevida drove the branch into the ground.

The small World Tree. A sapling from the previous World Tree and the foundation of a new one, it took root and sprouted in an instant.

The light that had filled every direction began to fade. The world, once too bright to look upon, gradually regained its shape.

I raised my head. The hole in the forest was being filled again. Even the pillar of light that seemed capable of burning everything apart shattered and scattered in every direction against the thickly blooming leaves.

The scattered light spread everywhere, making every plant and tree grow further. This land, overflowing with rare flowers and plants, looked like a paradise that had appeared out of nowhere.

“How laughable that you, who drove my lord away by means other than the logic of strength, would say such things. My lord will return to this land.”

[…Even so, please do not go to extremes.]

Grass and vines rushed in from all directions to devour the light. Vines, thorns, blades of grass, and branches stretched out, targeting the light that formed Maiél's body.

For some reason, though, the branches and leaves lost their direction and scattered about. It was as if the possibility of reaching Maiél had been removed.

Maiél looked at Nevida with unfocused eyes.

[Being able to do something does not mean you should do it. Just as I do not kill all of you, even though I could. The world should be beautiful, kind, and sing of love and mercy. There must be no power capable of breaking humanity.]

“My lord does not break humanity. My lord only affirms a purer humanity.”

[That will break humanity in the end. Humanity has already gained the power to destroy itself. And someone like you will pull the trigger that sends the world to ruin over a trivial emotion.]

“Whether that truly comes to pass, I will ask after I reclaim my lord.”

Nevida smiled and touched the Demon God within her.

The Tree of Origin. The authority connected to the origin of life transformed power into life. The grass and branches that could not reach Maiél no longer had any space left in which to avoid her and gradually pressed inward.

It had nothing to do with Maiél's power. There simply was not enough space, so the possibility that the growing plants would miss Maiél vanished. The forest swelled and grew as though exploding, and the new shoots no longer had a future to choose from. Maiél, who had stood firm with lofty composure, was eventually overrun by vegetation. Leaves and thorny vines ravaged and swallowed her entire body.

“When you return, come in person. That would be proper respect for my lord.”

* * *

One was the strongest of the Holy Maidens residing in the Sanctum. The other was a symbol of savagery and a living Demon God. Ordinary people like me had no place in a battle between two absolute powerhouses. We should have been looking for a corner to hide in instead.

The regressor wanted to get me out, but breaking through the green barrier growing in real time was impossible. All I could do was use earth arts and druidism to secure a space for myself.

“Teacher!”

While I fought the vegetation invading my space, Rashy came over in a situation no better than mine. He had wrapped Callis in his own body as he pushed through the branches, and he shouted urgently.

“Callis is in danger! At this rate, she may die!”

He was right.

I had Tyr's Demon God. The regressor had qi arts. Rashy had an immortal's power. Each of us had something to rely on, and we barely managed to survive amid the collision of those enormous powers.

But that only applied to people with power. The other immortals, whose Offering God had withdrawn its power, and Callis, who was an ordinary human aside from her magic, were being threatened with death every second. Perhaps Maiél had been considerate enough to spare them from looking directly at that light and going blind, but...

The air boiled, trees burned, and vegetation absorbed the heat as it grew. It was a world far too harsh for ordinary people. I looked at Callis, who had collapsed as though unconscious with small branches embedded all over her body, and offered my sympathy.

“Oh, dear. That's unfortunate.”

“Is that all you have to say?!”

“What do you expect me to do? I don't even know if I'll survive. I don't have time to worry about someone else's life!”

Rashy was desperate enough to want to grab anyone and shout at them, but he realized there was no use complaining to me and changed his approach.

“Teacher. It isn't only Callis. My kin are in danger as well! Is there no way?”

“What way could there be? As long as those two are fighting, there's nothing we can do. We can only pray that we survive until it ends!”

“Then it will be too late! The Offering God has just withdrawn its power, so my kin have weakened as well! If this battle does not end immediately, I will be the only one to survive!”

Rashy shouted as he pushed through the suffocatingly dense undergrowth. Nevida and Maiél were now fighting to fill the space with their respective authorities. At this rate, it was no exaggeration to say we might actually suffocate beneath the branches.

For ordinary people to survive here...

“…I think there is one way to survive. It will only help us survive, though.”

“That is enough! What is it?”

“The immortals' power weakened because the Offering God withdrew it, right? Then we just need to restore it.”

“But the Offering God was attacked by Evil Omen and turned into a tree...!”

“Yes. It became a tree. It didn't disappear, did it?”

At my words, Rashy's eyes widened as he looked toward where the Offering God had been. The brown tree that vaguely resembled a human stood exactly as it had when it first grew.

Even as the sky split and the terrain changed from Maiél and Nevida's battle, it remained unchanged. It stood firm like an ancient tree that had held its place for thousands of years.

“Yes. That fruit is the essence of the Offering God, left with only ‘power’ after repeating countless deaths. It is a fruit made from every piece of flesh scattered across this land. If someone eats it... if they devour it as the Offering God did, they may gain the Offering God's power. Then the immortals who regain their god may recover their strength as well.”

“But Callis is not an immortal! Even if I eat it, Callis...!”

“That's true. Callis isn't an immortal. Not yet, anyway.”

Rashy belatedly understood what I meant. For a brief moment, fear passed across his face. The Offering God had survived by borrowing another's body. There was no way to know how Callis would change if she took that power, or what Rashy would have to do if she did.

Still, one thing was certain. If things continued like this, Callis would die.

“Callis! Hold on a little longer!”

Rashy ran while holding Callis. Sharp twigs scratched across his cheek, but he was grateful for them instead. At least the branches stabbing him would not hurt Callis.

He shook off the vines clutching his arms and legs and climbed toward the Offering God's tree. He mercilessly trampled another form of the god he revered and grabbed a fruit with his right hand. When he plucked it with all his strength, red juice spilled out like blood.

“Forgive me for making you eat this fruit without asking!”

The unconscious Callis did not answer. Rashy chewed the fruit himself, then opened Callis's mouth and pushed it inside.

That was how a new Offering God was born. I did not know what would become of them from here.

One thing was certain, though. Everyone's wish had come true.

Rashy saved his race and his bride, and the immortals regained their god. Callis gained a powerful authority she could not obtain even in the military state. She even gained love, so what incredible luck.

And the Offering God survived. I didn't know if it was in the form it wanted, but it survived.

I no longer needed to worry about them. I should focus on taking care of myself.

As it happened, the battle between the two was about to end.

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried