WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

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Chapter 591: A Story from the Past. The Old Testament - 3

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Four monsters lived in the far reaches of the continent.

Unlike the heart of the continent, where the King of Humanity wandered, the four monsters of the frontier were savage and violent. They hunted and devoured their fellow humans with cruel delight. Humans suffered in the monsters' territories and trembled in fear. Those who could bear it no longer often tried to flee, only to be killed.

At the time, the king's country was gradually expanding its reach. Humans fortunate enough to escape the monsters' territories heard of the King of Humanity and came clinging to a thread of hope. They denounced the four monsters' cruelty and horror, pouring out their pent-up rage.

Then "Big Sis" gave a short reply.

"Me? Why?"

Before Year One, people had fought and killed without hesitation. Anyone outside one's own group was no different from a wild beast, and if you were going to kill them, it was better to wipe them all out.

The transition to an agrarian society and territorial living had reduced conflict, but that cruel logic still remained in human hearts.

Humanity's autumn had arrived, and the country now prospered under a different wind. Still, the wind of change had not yet seeped in deeply enough.

"They haven't done anything to me. They didn't try to carry me off in their jaws, and they didn't attack my group. I don't even know them. Do I have to go find them and kill them?"

"Big Sis" asked out of pure curiosity. The Warriors of the King answered with troubled expressions.

"No. Your words are right, my liege."

"There is no reason for you to involve yourself in a minor dispute."

"Besides... the frontier is too far away."

The King of Humanity wandered the world, but even that depended on her mood. When the weather was too hot, "Big Sis" set up a tent near a river and spent her time bathing. When it was too cold, she piled on clothes and sat beside a bonfire, warming herself lazily.

When she saw a village, she sometimes lingered for a while. She also gave teachings to those who came looking for her. The places where "Big Sis" stayed most often became the foundation of the "country."

The King of Humanity was like a moving capital. Though the Warriors of the King followed her, they too had come from the major villages of the "country" to attend the king. To them, the frontier was far too distant and unfamiliar.

"It is well over a thousand li away. Even traveling lightly, it would take a year. And who knows how fierce and terrifying the beasts in that strange land may be? There is no chance of your defeat, my liege, but if those monsters are as powerful as the rumors say, there is no reason to fight them."

Sending the King of Humanity there, especially "Big Sis," who led humanity through its most brilliant age, was unthinkable. The Warriors of the King, who had already lost the previous king to the Mountain Lord, fiercely opposed it.

"My liege. Please consider this. I beg you."

Even Nevida, who upheld "Big Sis's" will above all else, sincerely opposed it. The matter seemed ready to end there.

"You must punish them."

Yet the Keeper of Lore asked "Big Sis" to punish them.

"The four monsters are not beasts. They are all human. Humans who devour, indulge in, and violate other humans. They are demons."

Kneeling before "Big Sis," the Keeper of Lore took out four dark-red scrolls. Ominous, forbidden scrolls containing the lore of the frontier monsters. The Keeper of Lore recited that lore.

"Ankra, Eater of a Thousand, eats a thousand people every year and hunts more than twice that number. To Ankra, humans are livestock, food to fill Ankra's belly and the bellies of Ankra's followers, and nothing more than a source of life for Ankra to devour. The taboo of devouring everything will cross the jungle and set its sights on this land."

In the southeast of the continent, a monster lived by eating people deep within an endless jungle. Ankra, Eater of a Thousand.

"Baphomet the Beast Mother, Mistress of Black Water. She handles black mud overflowing with life and gives birth to beasts that have never existed before. If humans and animals are cut apart and placed in the black spawning pool, monsters made from every kind of beast are born. The taboo of grafting life together will drive out beasts and cover the world."

In the southwest of the continent, beyond the desert, lay a land where Black Water flowed. Baphomet, the shaper of mud who mixed the remains of life to create monsters.

"Yotun, King of the Giants. Living in the snowy mountains, he violates hundreds of women and kills every child born except for the largest and healthiest one. For hundreds of years, they have raised only superior offspring, making them far larger and stronger than ordinary humans. The taboo of mating will seek to trample and violate every human but itself."

In the northeast of the continent, giantfolk left enormous footprints in the cold snowy mountains as they kidnapped people. Their chieftain was Yotun.

"...And the place where I first opened my eyes. On that mountain where madmen distort the world as they please and spread their twisted minds. The taboo of heresy will beguile our minds like a demon."

And in the northwest of the continent, on lonely Mount Yulim, lived Luminous Heavenly Venerable Beel, the leader of a mad cult who revered what lay above the sky and burned out her own eyes.

Having recited all four tales, the Keeper of Lore pleaded with an infinitely sorrowful, pitiful expression.

"My liege. They are exceedingly dangerous and harmful. If demons who perpetuate the cycle of sin rule with great power, people will slowly be stained like paper left beside ink. They will lead humanity down the wrong path. Eating others will become common sense, boasting of how many people one has eaten will become a virtue, and the weak will become livestock, endlessly crying out in pain."

A cold wind blew. The Keeper of Lore's cry was desperate, yet lonely. A dry, chilly gust passed through humanity's autumn.

"Please consider the plight of the wronged until your feet blister, your heart bursts, and you cough blood. In your name, punish every one of those taboos."

Who dared command the king? Who dared urge a journey of over a thousand li and ask for the heads of the king's own people?

Who dared use the King of Humanity as a mercenary?

A harsh wind foretelling winter blew. A blade-like gust that seemed to tear skin apart swirled through the tent. It felt as though someone might be torn apart at any moment.

The Warriors of the King stepped forward. The Keepers of Lore blocked their way. The taut thread seemed ready to snap.

Still, at the very center of a conflict about to burst into flames, "Big Sis" remained free.

"I'll go see them."

Nevida cried out.

"My liege!"

"I'm curious. That person came all this way, dying just to leave behind a few words. They must have run away because they didn't want to die, but they came here and died anyway. I want to know what they wanted to leave behind."

What did beasts live for? It was the stupidest question. Life was not a means, but an end. Every beast struggled to preserve its life for even one more moment.

That was why the King of Humanity felt curious as she thought of the human who had died before her.

"I'll be back!"

It was a journey that would take years at the shortest, more than a decade at the longest. Even the warriors who had sworn to attend the king could not easily follow such a long journey across the continent. A procession of stragglers would stretch out like shadows greeting twilight.

For the Keeper of Lore's mere request, the "country" had lost both its king and its keeper. Some looked at the Keeper of Lore with hateful eyes.

Nevida and the young, healthy warriors prepared to attend "Big Sis" on the distant journey.

"I shall attend you."

"Do as you like!"

"Big Sis" answered without refusing or accepting.

It was a long and arduous road. Beasts they had never seen before ran before their eyes, and magnificent sights beyond anything they had known unfolded before them. The Keepers of Lore filled scrolls, hoping to capture even a fraction of what they felt. Seeing, hearing, and touching new things, "Big Sis" and the warriors steadily walked toward the snowy mountains visible in the distance.

"Big Sis" and the Warriors of the King were the finest group among humanity. For the time being, they could even afford to enjoy the journey itself.

Until they approached the territory of the giantfolk.

One glance was enough to understand why they were called giantfolk. Giants three heads taller than ordinary humans, with hands and feet as thick as pot lids, wandered about carrying clubs.

They even dragged people around bound with rough, thick ropes. The moment they saw "Big Sis," they muttered.

"Female."

"Small."

"Pretty."

"Looks strong."

"Take."

The giants' language was primal and unfamiliar. None of the Warriors of the King could understand it. Yet no one could fail to sense the threat when a giant strode toward them and suddenly reached out a hand.

"Male, kill."

"Female, take."

The Warriors of the King drew their weapons in response. They were warriors of great skill, but the giants were too large and powerful. The Warriors of the King were pushed back by their overwhelming strength.

"Hm?"

Yet "Big Sis" reached out a hand toward the hand extended before her.

"Uooooooh!"

The giant's wrist bent backward. A giant with hands as large as pot lids was forced to its knees by the strength of "Big Sis," who did not even reach its waist, and crawled across the ground.

The giants who ruled the snowy mountains had been subdued by a small girl. The Warriors of the King, who had been driven back by their strength, brought down the giants as they would hunt beasts.

The captives who witnessed this approached while still bound and bowed their heads.

"Please save us! We can't be dragged away like this!"

"Please, at least spare our lives...!"

They spoke different languages, but the King of Humanity could understand them. "Big Sis" understood and replied.

"Huh? I'm not going to kill you."

The King of Humanity needed no one's recognition. Even upon meeting another country or another tribe, the King of Humanity was their king. The reason the "country" could be bound together as one was simple.

Words carried weight.

Instinctively realizing those words were true, the captives relaxed and entrusted themselves to the king.

As they cared for the starving, exhausted people, "Big Sis" and the Warriors of the King learned what customs the giantfolk followed.

At the foot of Unfallen Mountain, the highest mountain in the world, the giants lived in small groups and roamed every corner of the snowy mountains. Sometimes they descended to the plains and raided villages. They ate men on the spot, abducted women, and dragged them back to their stronghold.

What awaited there was an endless life of forced breeding. They became pregnant and gave birth until their bodies wore out and they died, all while watching the "failures" be killed before their eyes. Birth and death were made inside their wombs.

The giantfolk repeated this process of breeding and discarding children countless times, keeping only those who grew larger and healthier. That was why the giantfolk had become so large and strong.

"My god..."

It was a fact so disgusting and cruel that even the Warriors of the King retched. Those who had disliked the Keeper of Lore could not help agreeing with some of what she had said.

Watching for an opening, the captives knelt before "Big Sis" with a ray of hope and pleaded.

"...Traveler. C-could you perhaps save those who were taken...?"

But "Big Sis's" response was somewhat different.

"No."

"...What?"

"They're humans too, aren't they?"

"Big Sis" was the king of all humanity. Even the atrocities committed by some humans were no more than ripples spreading across the sea. Could a storm change the height of the ocean?

To the King of Humanity, who represented every human, attacking and taking other humans was perfectly natural. She saw no reason or need to stop them.

"People abandon newborn babies all the time. If that means I have to kill them, then I have to kill other humans too. Every time they abandon a child."

Even if the giantfolk were more violent and cruel, similar things must have happened throughout the world.

The King of Humanity was special. That specialness bound everyone together, but everyone included giants who were cruel and savage.

It was a matter of essence. So long as "Big Sis" was the King of Humanity, it was an absolute truth that could never be overturned.

The Keeper of Lore said nothing.

Instead, the Keeper of Lore sat beside the head of a captured giant and whispered something in the giants' language.

"Khahahahahahaha! The female King of Humanity has come!"

Not long afterward, as "Big Sis" prepared to leave, hundreds of giants approached with steps that shook the earth. At their head stood Yotun, chieftain of the giantfolk, a full head taller than the other giants.

"Excellent timing! The soil that can receive my seed has just dried up! If you are the King of Humanity, you should bear healthier fruit!"

Yotun eyed "Big Sis" with filthy, primal desire. It was so blatant that there was no room for misunderstanding.

"I will make the king bear my child and produce the finest fruit!"

Watching Yotun approach, "Big Sis" did not refuse the challenge and gripped a hand axe.

The eternal snow that had never lost its pure whiteness was sullied crimson.

Footnotes:

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