WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Natty
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◈ The Regressor and the Blind Saintess ◈
Chapter 26: The Chase - 3
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The anomaly began with an earth-shaking tremor.
Rummmmble.
It was a vibration better described as making the whole world ring. At that tremor, everyone in the forest who had been fighting until just moments ago came to a stop.
Naturally.
No one here was foolish enough to dismiss it as a mere earthquake.
Again.
Rummmmble.
The tremor resounded.
The wind stopped.
The forest fell silent.
As everything around him grew quiet beneath the continuing tremors, Vera felt every sense in his body freeze.
An overwhelming pressure unlike anything he had ever felt in either this life or his last. That sensation, which could only be called vastness, began to swallow his entire body.
Rummmmble.
This time, the tremor was louder.
What followed was a sight that seized and froze the gaze of everyone in the forest, Vera included.
Rrrrumble.
At the end of Vera's gaze, far in the distance.
The mountain...
Rose.
The enormous mountain range behind the forest, where the battle had been raging, rose to its feet. Not figuratively. The mountain range itself was truly beginning to stand.
Rrrrumble.
Tremors rang out as the mountain range rose.
Its shape gradually began to take on a human form. It was becoming a giant so immense that it would be more accurate to say it touched the sky.
When the giant fully rose, its enormous body blocked the moonlight that had illuminated the ground until then.
Vera stared at the giant, so massive that its mere existence made distance meaningless, as shadows fell over everything and darkened his vision.
His stunned thoughts barely managed to hold together long enough to form one question.
What was that?
What was that giant?
What could it possibly be called?
As he stood there blankly trying to think, a being capable of explaining that thing came to Vera's mind.
...No, it had to be that being. Nothing else in this world could explain it.
Terdan...!
Terdan, the giant who pushed mountains.
One of the nine ancient races the gods had shaped first when they built this land.
The giant that had not appeared for hundreds of years and had begun to be regarded as little more than a legend.
Only that could explain the being before him.
Another question followed.
Why...?
Why was it here now? Why had it emerged from beneath that mountain range?
As Vera continued to wonder, he retraced what had happened before the giant rose.
His gaze naturally turned to Rene.
She had fainted after forcing out divine power and manifesting her Authority.
...The Authority.
The High God's Authority. This anomaly had begun when Rene started to manifest it.
The pieces fell into place in his mind. His thoughts quickly gathered the fragments of the event and wove them into a single chain of cause and effect.
The High God's Authority is the Fate-Weaving Authority.
It was an Authority at the very height of absurdity, capable of fixing even a possibility infinitely close to zero as the future. An Authority that could turn a mere beggar into the Emperor of the Empire.
If it is that Authority...
It made sense.
Vera's gaze returned to Terdan, standing there blankly.
The reason it had not appeared for hundreds of years...
Had it been sleeping beneath that mountain range?
It was a reasonable guess. Who could have imagined that the mountain range itself had formed as earth piled over where Terdan lay?
Terdan must have awakened at this very moment because the High God's Authority had seized the possibility, infinitely close to zero, that Terdan would awaken and fixed it into reality.
Having deduced that much, Vera shuddered at the thought that followed and looked at Rene.
If she had manifested an Authority great enough to awaken something like that, her body could not have endured it.
The instant Vera placed a hand on Rene's forehead...
[Grrrrraaaah!]
Terdan roared.
What followed was a bombardment that could only be called a disaster.
Booom!
* * *
Terdan bent down, scooped up the earth, drew its hand back, then hurled the ground it held forward.
At a glance, it was almost a ridiculous act.
But its results were anything but ridiculous.
Craaaash!
The chunks of earth Terdan threw became a meteor shower that crashed into the ground.
The wyverns flying through the air burst apart. The Followers of the Night hiding within shadows burst apart. The entire forest was swept away.
Vera drew a sharp breath at the sight, his eyes widening as if they might split, then clenched his teeth and rose.
This was no time to stand around blankly.
“Norn! Run!”
“Yes!”
Holding Rene tightly in his arms, Vera continued to think as he dodged the incoming chunks of earth.
This was the result of her Authority.
Which meant Terdan would be the key to buying them time to reach the border. Amid this chaos, the pursuers would not be able to chase them. They had to run and escape now.
I must not fight it.
These were creatures shaped first by the gods, creatures that had existed since the creation of the world.
The First Dragon, Lokryon, had been like that. So had Nertania, the Queen of the Black Season.
Living disasters capable of shaking the continent with a single gesture.
That was what those ancient races were.
Vera erased every other thought and filled his mind with only one.
I have to protect Rene.
From the rampage of that ancient race, from the pursuers thrown into panic, from the heart of this disaster.
He had to protect Rene and get her safely to the Holy Kingdom.
He had to kick away the shame of running from an enemy before him.
Such shallow pride was not important to Vera now.
I need to examine the Saintess's condition.
They needed to get away from here quickly so he could examine Rene. Using an Authority on that scale would surely bring backlash.
Divine power and Authority were not abilities without a price.
They were powers almost like transactions, lending only as much strength as the price one offered.
Rene did not even properly know how to use divine power. She only knew how to release it, yet she had used it to perform a miracle of this scale. How could she possibly be unharmed?
Vera's steps quickened.
Without realizing it, his anxious heart led to the manifestation of his Authority.
“I declare.”
Gray divine power rose around him. Its range extended one meter around Vera.
“From this moment onward, all acts of combat within the Sanctuary are forbidden. Accordingly, those who uphold this rule shall gain speed equal to their combat ability. Those who fail to uphold it shall lose the ability to walk.”
Rules created solely for escape. Rules made with no thought but getting Rene to the Holy Kingdom as quickly as possible. Having established them, Vera bit down on his lip and gave the Sanctuary binding force.
“I shall enforce all these rules in the name of Lushan.”
Gray divine power swirled around Vera. Golden rules flared above it.
Feeling his body grow lighter as the rules took effect, Vera drew a deep breath and ran again.
Behind him, the sight of a disaster continued to follow.
[Grrrrraaaah!]
* * *
His breath was growing ragged.
The muscles throughout his body screamed.
For who knew how many hours now, Vera had run without rest, dodging the chunks of earth that continued to rain down on him.
Craaaash!
Another massive boulder struck the ground behind Vera.
Feeling his balance begin to give way as the ground shook, Vera clenched his teeth and steadied himself.
His gaze turned to Terdan, which was slowly following behind them.
[Grrrrraaaah!]
The roar felt as though it would burst his eardrums. Terdan's body was so enormous that even its cries made the world around them tremble.
That damn bastard...!
Terdan ignored every pursuer fleeing in all directions and continued following Vera.
The reason was likely...
The Saintess.
It must have been angry at the one who had awakened it.
Grit.
Vera's teeth clenched tightly.
He drew another deep breath, gathered all his strength in his legs, and kicked off the ground.
Booom!
The quake, enough to make curses rise to his lips, still showed no sign of stopping.
* * *
At Elia's border, Vargo stood leaning on his cane and looked at the giant approaching from far away.
A massive body that seemed ready to pierce the heavens. Weight that shook the whole earth with every step. Cries that stung his eardrums.
It was Terdan, the giant who pushed mountains.
Recognizing it, Vargo deeply furrowed his brow and clicked his tongue.
“Eugh, tch.”
What in the world had they been doing?
Vera's face came to Vargo's mind.
Given the strange signs Vera had shown before departing, as well as the request for assistance delivered not long ago, it was likely related to the Saintess.
Vargo rested a hand on his chin and slowly stroked it as he continued thinking.
“Hmm...”
How should he handle this?
How should he send that thing back?
As Vargo considered it...
“Your Holiness! They are coming!”
His adjutant's voice pierced Vargo's ears.
At the shout, Vargo's gaze shifted from Terdan to the brush far below it.
Vera emerged from the brush holding a young girl, with Norn running behind him and panting as though he might die at any moment.
They were approaching quickly. Even as Vargo clicked his tongue at Vera, the distance between them closed.
Then Vera, who had fully emerged from the brush, leaped over an obstacle and landed with a thud.
Vera stopped, covered in wounds. As he raised his head, he spotted Vargo and looked startled.
“Your Holiness? Why are you here...?”
His words were thick with questions. Vargo let out a low grunt before answering them.
“You raised such hell begging for help. Did you think I would just sit still? What the hell have you been doing to end up in such a state?”
“...I apologize.”
“That apology of yours...”
Vargo looked at Vera with exasperation, then noticed Rene, who remained unconscious in Vera's arms, and froze.
She was a girl as white as snow, truly without a single blemish.
And...
...She is young.
She was too young to hold the High God's Authority, too young to bring a miracle into this world.
“Is that young lady the Saintess?”
“...Yes.”
“Ha ha...”
What in the world were those gods thinking, giving something like that to such a young girl?
As Vargo considered this, he raised his head at the earth that continued to shake and looked at Terdan.
[Grrrrraaaah!]
The sight of it throwing chunks of earth around in a wild rampage was thoroughly irritating.
Before I think any further...
I should deal with that distracting fool first.
“Fine, you have done well for now. Step back.”
“Your Holiness?”
“Did I not tell you to step back?”
Step. Step.
Vargo began walking.
Vera looked at Vargo, who had thrown aside the cane he had been holding and started forward, his face full of confusion.
What was he thinking? Even fleeing immediately would not be enough, so why was he approaching that giant?
As such thoughts filled Vera's mind...
Whoosh!
Divine power burst from Vargo's body.
A chill ran through Vera's body at the released divine power. It was bright red, more properly described as blood-red divine power.
That divine power pressed down on the entire space.
Only then did Vera realize what Vargo intended to do.
He intended to fight it.
Vargo was about to face that giant in battle.
“Honestly, none of you can do a single thing right.”
Vargo's words were almost a mutter. Yet even his voice carried divine power, filled with pressure that weighed down the space around them.
“You are all such fools... Retirement is completely out of the question now.”
Vargo stretched out his hand. Blood-red divine power. When the outstretched hand grasped it, the divine power spread through the air was sucked into Vargo's hand and transformed into the shape of a mace.
It was a mace filled with an immense sense of foreboding, one that endlessly stirred his instinct for survival.
Vargo gripped the mace with both hands. His muscles swelled. He planted his feet. He twisted his waist.
The completed stance was clearly a swinging stance that anyone could recognize.
Again, a question surfaced in Vera's mind.
From this distance?
What did he intend to do with that single blunt weapon?
As Vera stared blankly at Vargo with that thought, Vargo unleashed all the divine power in his body and prepared to strike.
The target was Terdan, visible far in the distance.
The distance did not matter.
All he needed was the desire to strike.
As he invoked his Authority, Terdan's karma came into Vargo's sight.
The depth of karma it had accumulated since creation was too great to compare with that of any human.
A grin spread over Vargo's lips.
“It is nice that the little bastard has so many places to hit.”
When he finished speaking, he struck with a speed too fast for the eye to follow.
A single swing. With it, a deafening roar, enough to be called ringing in the ears, shook the space around them.
[-----]
As Vargo's divine power shot through the air, every object between him and Terdan vanished. The ground, the plants, the pursuers who had been fleeing until moments ago, even the clouds that covered the moon in the sky.
As if they had never existed in the first place, everything in its path began to be erased.
The flying divine power reached Terdan. As Terdan's body collided with the rushing divine power, it began to fall backward.
Vera drew a sharp breath, his eyes widening as if they might split.
This is insane...!
As Vera cursed inwardly at the sight before him, a delayed explosion followed behind it.
Booom!
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