WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 689: I'll Bring It Down

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I was practically thrown out of Skywarbler. I landed on the back of my head and grumbled at the relic's petty malice.

I take that back. Why had Rene been curled up inside, crying? If she had this much power, couldn't she have beaten the Gold Duke?

Still, I'd persuaded her. Would she really lend us her power?

Bzzzz.

A strange sound came from Skywarbler. The crack snapped shut, and an intense vibration rippled through the surrounding space.

"Huh? Skywarbler's gotten stronger! Hughes, it worked!"

Shei looked happily at the humming Skywarbler in her hand. Apparently in a good mood, she gripped it like a sword again and swung it around wildly. Her movements were no different from usual, but whenever she swung Skywarbler, the air trembled and gusts of wind burst out.

Lankart studied Skywarbler closely.

"Rene's saint's relic is subspace itself. Your sword is a passage leading to that subspace. You've narrowed it into a thin, sharp shape like a sword. Just blowing wind out of it would make it sharper than most blades."

"Mm. That was probably how it worked. I don't really know."

"You're using it without even knowing how it works? Pearls before swine. How did that thing earn the relic's recognition? Is Saint Rene trying to give an idiot an intelligence boost?"

"It judges character. Someone like you would never be recognized."

Shei was in such a good mood that even insults rolled right off her.

Lankart spoke with a sullen expression.

"The wind... It's the flow of gas produced as the subspace expands and contracts. Did you infuse it with mana too, allowing you to control the wind at will?"

"That's right. Skywarbler's true form is that crack. The wind comes from Rene's subspace. It's an item with a few modifications."

Subspace was a space that did not physically exist, created by Rene's innate arcane. Shei controlled the wind by expanding and contracting its volume. That was how she turned space into force.

"Rene's subspace could only hold wind before... but now I think I can stuff all kinds of things in there! I finally feel like I've gotten stronger!"

Shei was thrilled and carefree. Right now, she was simply happy to have become stronger.

Nobody else felt the same way.

The Cyan Tower Master, who had apparently appeared at some point, was staring accusingly at me with cold, sunken eyes. She spoke as if she were about to cry.

"Hughes. Is this what you wanted? Is this what you gained by going so far as to fight me?"

Frost was forming around her. The Cyan Tower Master was the type to grow quieter when angry. And rage hot enough to burn was closing in on me.

Easy. Calm down. You're too worked up right now. I did do something wrong, but isn't trying to attack me a little extreme? Let's talk this out instead of fighting.

As I backed away hesitantly, Avant-garde, who had been fidgeting nearby, spoke up.

"Hughes must have some other plan. Making the star fall recklessly... Hughes would never, never do something like that, right?"

Had even Avant-garde learned the truth? Secrets spread in an instant.

But Avant-garde was defending me even after hearing what I had done? She was really taken with me. Had I gone too far with someone so innocent? How was I supposed to undo that?

Unlike Avant-garde, the Cyan Tower Master still had her reason.

"I realized how dangerous that power was too. That was why I stopped seeking to know more... Yet I stepped back because I believed in your will to keep moving forward. If I'd known this would happen, I would have stopped you by any means necessary."

The Cyan Tower Master had grown frightened and left the Temple of the Demon God because she instinctively understood just how dangerous the Demon King's knowledge was. It was power that could make even the ice crystals she wielded seem trivial. Once she understood its destructive potential, she stopped developing herself.

The peace she had protected by suppressing even her curiosity and desire had been shattered. Filled with a deep sense of betrayal, the Cyan Tower Master seemed ready to lunge at me.

This had unraveled too far. Winning her over again did not look easy. What should I do?

"You're mistaken, Elisha."

Shei suddenly cut in.

"Hughes didn't bring ‘Pride’ down to destroy the world. Hughes intends to stop ‘Pride.’"

"...Stop it?"

Huh? Me?

Nobody could have expected such an out-of-place statement, but Shei spoke with complete certainty.

"The King of Humanity is a conceptual being. Why would the King of Humanity have any reason to exterminate humanity? If anything, the King of Humanity would prevent humanity's extinction. Hughes called ‘Pride’ down to stop it."

Had I...? Was that what I was doing?

A feeling I had not yet recognized came out through Shei's mouth. I appreciated her misunderstanding me so generously, but this complete trust felt strange. What was with her? Not long ago, she had treated me like a potential criminal.

"‘Pride’ can fall very easily. A mage who has learned gravity magic could make it fall just by harboring hatred. Someone desperate enough to find the Demon God at any cost could call it down. Or the King of Sin could pull it down like a toy. The only way to stop that is to bring ‘Pride’ down ourselves."

‘You don't have to look far. After the floating castle fell, the Temple of the Demon God called down Pride countless times. They wanted the Demon God, and revenge against the Empire as well. Until then, I thought the Temple of the Demon God was an organization of insane mages trying to destroy the world... Back then, that wasn't even a particularly wrong judgment.’

Even that thought felt unfamiliar.

The Cyan Tower Master asked skeptically.

"A meteor is a mass that flies in at cosmic speed. Friction with the atmosphere creates flames hotter than Fahrenheit, and it is harder than any rock on the ground. Its speed far surpasses the speed of sound. The mages of the floating castle have already done the calculations. If its diameter exceeds even five hundred meters, modern magic cannot stop it."

"Yeah. That's probably true. But what if we use the Demon God?"

"The Demon God...?"

"Hughes is the King of Humanity, and any Demon God humanity has discovered can be used once it is known. The Demon God in the floating castle must be related to gravity, right? With that power, there may be a way to overcome ‘Pride.’"

Why was she explaining this so well? That wasn't her character. It didn't even sound like she was speaking without knowing anything. Had she seen something somewhere?

Lankart muttered while looking at Shei.

"Strange. That actually makes sense. Was all the stupidity you've shown so far an act? Or do you just have good instincts?"

Shei ignored the criticism, despite hearing every word, and continued.

"Hughes is the only one with even a chance of stopping ‘Pride.’ That's why Hughes brought it down personally. Hughes needs to come into contact with the Demon God to use it, and isn't this better than letting it fall while Hughes is away from the floating castle?"

"Is that... really true?"

If I didn't nod here, I was in serious trouble. I ended up nodding with an ambiguous expression. The Cyan Tower Master's face brightened so much that I almost felt sorry for her.

Then Hilde suddenly appeared beside the Cyan Tower Master and spoke.

"Father would never cause something like this without any countermeasures. Father always has at least one plan prepared."

"Did you really think Hui brought down a meteor to destroy the lower realm? Foolish. Think from Hui's perspective. That would benefit nobody. It's irrational."

Lankart joined in as well. There was no longer any room for me to deny it.

That made the Cyan Tower Master the strange one. Shei, Lankart, Hilde, and even Avant-garde were taking my side, leaving her alone in embarrassment.

"I alone... knew nothing."

Don't worry. I didn't know either. We were in similar situations.

Lankart suddenly became excited and began talking loudly.

"That's right. You know nothing. You think you're the smartest person in the world, and that your limits are the limits of all humanity. But Hui is clearly superior to you, and there is proper reason behind every action Hui takes."

Why had Lankart suddenly gotten so happy? Shut up for a while.

"This is the difference between you and me. I have someone above me. There is someone I must surpass. As long as Hui exists, I am not proud. I am always humble. You and the White Tower Master, who envy, distrust, and try to kill those superior to you, will never defeat me!"

"You tried to kill me too."

"I was young then."

Did Lankart buy absolution with age? Whenever anything happened, Lankart claimed to have been young.

The cold aura around the Cyan Tower Master subsided. Having calmed her anger, she fell silent in thought before murmuring.

"You're right. The truth I reached... perhaps it wasn't a truth only I could reach. Hughes, you had already reached it. It was meaningless to stand in the way of someone reaching this point. Hughes, was that what you were trying to tell me?"

...

I gave a faint smile. Spreading both arms as if I'd been waiting for this, I said,

"Cyan Tower Master. Do you know what kind of meteor is the least dangerous?"

"One that burns up while falling?"

"No. A meteor that has already fallen. It isn't dangerous anymore. Instead, it becomes a marker that tells us what lies beyond this world. A huge meteor may have fallen and damaged this world at some point, but we cannot hold the meteor responsible for that. We can only accept it, learn from it, and move forward."

A vaguely impressive speech. I acted like I'd planned everything. I made everyone believe again, then reinforced that belief.

"We have ways to meet ‘Pride,’ and we've gathered the power to stop it. If it is a star destined to fall someday, it's better for me to bring it down myself. That is how we save the world, and humanity."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Plenty. This plan wouldn't even work without you, Cyan Tower Master. I planned this with you in mind from the very beginning."

There was no such thing. I'd always just made things fit as I went along. Still, I told the Cyan Tower Master what she wanted to hear.

"I knew you would never stand by and watch ‘Pride.’ You were kind even to the fools of the lower realm. Even in this floating castle filled with pride, you used pride better than anyone."

"Used pride the best? What does that mean?"

"Kind people are the proudest people. They can afford to share their knowledge and time with others. I don't dislike people like that."

I only disliked seeing them bound by kindness and left with regret.

There was still some time before ‘Pride’ fell. We could not yet take the floating castle out to meet it; we would have to wait for its path to bring it within reach. Before that, there was something else to do.

We had to occupy the floating castle.

"Everyone, follow me. We need to go meet the Demon God."

Footnotes:

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