WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 664: Tower of Babel, Floor 9

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Climbing to the ninth floor was unusually slow. The people in front did not move forward, so those behind complained. Yet when the complainers finally reached the ninth floor, they too stood still instead of making room.

"Hey, people are trying to get through. Move aside."

I forced my way through the crowd and reached the ninth floor. The moment I stepped forward, I stopped like everyone else.

A gentle breeze blew past us. Grass spread across the vast plain, swaying softly in the wind.

Dirt and grass? Things rarely seen in a tower. Still, it was possible. An eccentric with strange tastes might cover a tower floor in dirt and plant grass.

The light pouring down from that incredible height, though, was unmistakably unnatural.

"The sun?"

A lamp as bright as the sun shone from a ceiling so high it might as well have been the sky.

I doubted my eyes. No matter how high a ceiling was, it could not reach the sky. No matter how bright a lamp was, it could not outshine the sun. Yet the ninth floor of the Tower of Babel had made it real. The ceiling was as high as the sky, and that light was as bright as the sun. It felt as though we had stepped onto a meadow at noon.

Still, I could not shake the instinctive sense that something was wrong. I asked Shei, the most instinctive person here.

"Shei. We haven't come outside, have we?"

"Mm. We're still inside the Tower of Babel."

"Even for a tower with spatial distortions... I can't believe it could hide, or create, such a huge space. And that sun is nearly as bright as the real one."

"It's an artificial sun."

Lankart, who had followed me out, stared up at the sky and muttered.

"No doubt about it. That is the light of an artificial sun that refines and emits only heat and brightness."

"An artificial sun? The one at the center of the floating castle?"

"Yes. A floating castle traveling along the Orbit of the Heavenly Pivot at such a great altitude cannot receive sunlight. Light that has not been filtered by the sky is no different from poison. That is why the Demon King created an artificial sun at the center of the floating castle to illuminate its interior."

I had seen it too. The enormous sphere of light at the heart of the floating castle had shone like a real sun. The artificial sun did not fall from the floating castle because the Tower of Babel, which ran through the castle, supported it from both sides.

We had climbed the Tower of Babel, and now the artificial sun hung above our heads.

This was the ninth floor. The artificial sun was overhead. That could only mean one thing. I stepped forward, looked over everyone, and spoke.

"All right, everyone. I've found the ninth floor's challenge."

The mages searching the area for the challenge asked in surprise.

"Already?"

"What is it?"

"You all know Babel's structure. The Demon King's mage tower, Babylon, is the axis of the floating castle that supports the artificial sun."

The Tower of Babel pierced vertically through the floating castle. At the exact center, where the towers grown from above and below met, the artificial sun illuminated the castle. The Tower of Babel was practically a fixed axis that kept the artificial sun from falling or drifting away.

In other words, there was an artificial sun at the top of the Tower of Babel.

"And yet the artificial sun is shining down on us from overhead. What does that mean?"

"It means we're at the top of the Tower of Babel."

"The Tower of Babel didn't look this wide from the floating castle."

"It's a spatial distortion. I didn't expect its scale to be this immense. The Tower of Babel may be a giant version of Rene's pouch."

The mages from the floating castle nodded and discussed it among themselves. The mages who had climbed up from below, though, could not understand what they were saying.

"What? Why do they know the floating castle's structure? This is the Dragon Gate, isn't it? The test for earning the right to ascend to the floating castle!"

"Are those mages from the floating castle?"

"What is this, pulling up the ladder? Why are floating-castle mages participating in the Dragon Gate?"

The mages gradually split into two groups. The floating castle's mages were stronger, but the mages from below outnumbered them greatly. The lower-world mages glared at the floating-castle mages with envy and hostility.

Another group had split apart. Even if they joined forces, it probably wouldn't be enough. I looked over the mages and continued.

"Strictly speaking, this is not the top of the Tower of Babel. We still have one floor above us."

"One more floor...? Hughes, there's nothing above us but the artificial sun."

"Exactly, Senior Avant-garde!"

I clapped loudly for Avant-garde, who had given the right answer. Avant-garde's face reddened as everyone looked over.

"The tenth floor, the top of Babel, is inside that artificial sun. This floor's challenge is to find a way into it."

That would be impossible if it were a real sun, but an artificial sun was another matter. It was a magical device. Inside, immense magical power would be swirling through magic circles engraved to produce light and heat.

It was a place worth investigating. One floating-castle mage stepped forward confidently.

"We can use gravity magic."

"Gravity magic?"

"Yes. Mages of the floating castle can use gravity-reversal magic. If we reverse gravity here, reaching the artificial sun will be easy. We will need to finish the calculations properly, of course..."

The mage was slowly explaining while gathering magical power. Then a flash of mana burst from the crowd, and a mage shot upward. She had completed her gravity-reversal spell ahead of everyone else. Laughing loudly, she shouted.

"Kyahahaha! Slowpokes! Rene's relic is mine!"

"Icarus! That bitch!"

While we had been talking among ourselves, she had secretly torn up a scroll, poured mana into it, and completed the gravity-reversal spell.

Mages really were quick with their calculations. The mage called Icarus laughed wildly and mocked the mage who was one step too late.

"Still don't understand? The Dragon Gate closes once one person passes through! The first person to claim it takes all the glory!"

"You think we stayed behind because we didn't know that...!"

"Follow her!"

"Hughes! What are you doing? Stop her!"

"Why are you asking me? She's the one who acted on her own."

As I muttered in disbelief, Icarus rose even higher. Gravity-reversal magic was fundamentally different from flight magic. Now that Icarus was closer to the sun, several other mages leaped after her using anti-gravity spells.

Yet by its nature, gravity-reversal magic could never catch someone who had gone up first. Icarus was approaching the speed of lightning. Cutting through the wind, she stretched out her hand toward the artificial sun.

"I'll claim Rene's legacy and rise to an even greater realm..."

She grew faster, hotter, brighter. Light soaked into Icarus's body. The light that seeped into her split her shadow into tiny pieces.

It was no illusion. It was exactly what it looked like. Before Icarus could even realize something was wrong, she gasped.

"Ah...! The light!"

Her cry did not reach us. At a distance where even my mind-reading began to fade, a human body shattered with a crackle.

Death? No, it was closer to annihilation. She was sucked into the artificial sun without leaving behind a corpse or even scraps. The clever mage who had tried to get ahead by cutting in line vanished into the light.

The mages who witnessed Icarus's death canceled their gravity-reversal spells in horror. It did not go as smoothly as expected.

"W-wait! A gravity anomaly! The anomaly is disrupting the spell!"

"Cancel the gravity magic and use another spell to fall...!"

Of the five mages who had risen, two with quick judgment and superior magical skill returned safely. One died like Icarus, while the other two flew off in strange directions and crashed far away. One broke their neck and died. The other was nearly fated to suffer the same end, but...

"Tch, idiots! What are you doing?!"

Shei created a gust of wind and saved them, leaving them with only minor injuries.

The situation settled as quickly as it had begun. The unrest among the people, however, only grew.

It was not because someone had died. If anything, it was the opposite. It was a tragic death, but the crowd's response was cold enough to be cruel.

"Serves her right for cutting in line. She should've just died!"

"That wasn't even cutting in line. A mage like that joining the Dragon Gate was cheating from the start!"

The mercenaries mocked the dead mage. The Holy Paladins clicked their tongues, though they still offered a small prayer. The mages, who should have been closest to her, hurled abuse.

One of the floating-castle mages who had returned challenged them.

"One of the chosen people just died. Is that really what you have to say?"

The floating-castle mages were older, more skilled, solemn, and serious. They gently rebuked the lower-world mages, but the hot-blooded mages only pushed back.

"What did you say? Who do you think got an easy ride with gravity magic that can only be learned in the floating castle?"

"This is one of our few chances! You're the ones trying to steal it from us!"

"We spent our whole lives studying to reach the floating castle!"

The sharp voices going back and forth grew harsher. The two groups seemed ready to clash at any moment. Shouts rang out, and some secretly prepared lethal spells.

As the mages fell into infighting, the two remaining groups slowly turned their attention toward each other.

The mercenaries.

And the Holy Paladins.

They had been in a position where they should have fought from the start. Neither side could casually draw weapons because they had been wary of the mages, who had the greatest numbers. If either side used force first, the mages might unite out of fear of violence, and neither group would be safe.

Now, though, the divided mages fighting each other could no longer restrain the mercenaries or the Holy Paladins.

"Your Eminence."

"Yes."

A secret tension spread among the Holy Paladins, and the priests slowly retreated. The Holy Paladins naturally formed a battle formation. The mercenaries glanced at Kuram, ready to move the moment he gave the order.

Then Kuram called Poison Centipede.

"Poison Centipede."

"...Huh?"

"Just a moment."

Kuram grabbed her by the head and kissed her. Poison Centipede's eyes went wide. The two continued kissing fiercely, and wet sounds carried through the open air.

Shei cried out in shock.

"W-what? What, what are they doing?"

"It seems they suddenly wanted to exchange saliva."

"What does that even mean? That can't be it!"

"People can develop urges like that sometimes."

"...I guess it's not impossible...?"

I had no idea. That was not the important part.

Poison Centipede's eyes gradually narrowed. She smiled with crescent-shaped eyes, looking utterly content and happy. It was an alluring, dangerously unstable sight.

Kuram slowly pulled away and muttered.

"There. Now that I've shared some happiness."

A long strand of saliva still connected them, as if reluctant to part. A moment later, Poison Centipede snatched it up and hurriedly licked it. After greedily sucking down even that, she let out a slurred moan.

"I'm happyyyyy-."

Kuram's bodily fluids were poison. His saliva was the sweetest drug of all. During the years they had been trapped in Tantalus, Kuram had supplied her with drugs. Poison Centipede had been soaked in Kuram's drugs, and Kuram had changed his body to create drugs suited to her.

Poison Centipede could only wield her principle after taking drugs. That was her demonic martial art.

"Poison Centipede. Let's kill them."

"Uheheheh!"

In Poison Centipede's drugged eyes, there were no enemies or allies. Music rang in her ears, while the dizzying scent of flowers brushed her nose. Her body felt light enough to fly, and she felt as though she could run for a hundred days without tiring. Intoxicated by euphoria, Poison Centipede spotted a butterfly fluttering enticingly nearby and chased after it.

"Butterfly... Butterfly, where are you going?"

Poison Centipede swung her blade as if enchanted, cutting the butterfly in two. Slash. Leather tore and skin split. The white butterfly instantly turned red, then multiplied into hundreds as though by magic and flew through the air.

"Kyahaha! Butterflies! There are so many butterflies!"

A Holy Paladin fell to their knees behind her as she laughed like a child and chased the butterflies. Blood poured from the half-severed neck.

A Holy Paladin with combat premonition had died absurdly easily. The Holy Paladin standing beside Torius stared at the dead companion in shock.

"Torius! Celestial God, what is this...?"

"What the hell are those butterflies...?"

"Why didn't combat premonition activate?"

The Holy Paladins' power, combat premonition. It let them read an opponent's attack half a step ahead, turning them into impregnable walls. In any situation, the Celestial God's eyes watched over them, protecting both their bodies and faith.

Yet the Holy Paladins could neither follow Poison Centipede's movements with their eyes nor read them through combat premonition. Her principle rendered even combat premonition useless.

Kuram loosened the bandages wrapped around his body and muttered.

"Because Poison Centipede did not cut you."

Poison Centipede's principle, Hallucinatory Somnambulism.

When she took drugs and fell into hallucinations, those hallucinations became reality. Unreal and unpredictable movements, strength beyond imagination, and the confidence that she could accomplish anything. All of it became real.

Poison Centipede had only cut a butterfly in her hallucination. No matter how stern the Celestial God was, he could not foresee the principles within Poison Centipede's hallucinations. By what principle could anyone predict a drug addict's hallucinations?

Nor was the euphoria from taking drugs the only thing becoming real.

Hallucinations invaded the reality caught in Poison Centipede's wake. The Holy Paladin's blood turned into hundreds of red butterflies, while the wind pushing at her back blew in reality as well. The dizzying floral scent Poison Centipede had smelled now filled everyone's noses. Some people with weak stomachs collapsed and vomited as their five senses became tangled.

She was a Master who had reached a principle. Even if her power was limited to when she had taken drugs, it was real.

Even their full strength would not be enough. The remaining Holy Paladins gripped their cross swords and shouted.

"God! Grant us strength!"

"Today, your pitiful lamb shall depart to your side!"

Having realized combat premonition would not work, the Holy Paladins charged Poison Centipede prepared to die.

Footnotes:

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