WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B
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◈ Whispers of a Scheming Demon ◈
Chapter 60: The Moonshadow Mausoleum (2)
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The Moonshadow Mausoleum appeared before Mapheltan.
A dead, withered forest of ash-gray trees. Beneath a pitch-black void, lifeless wasteland swallowed the horizon.
The sprawling vegetation had been dyed gray-white, as though covered in ash. The once-green earth was shriveled dry, holding not even the slightest trace of vitality.
The stench of death filled every corner. The very space rejected life.
This was a cradle for the dead, a sanctuary for forgotten beings.
The god they had worshipped had been reduced to a lone stump, yet its frail roots still supported the sanctuary.
The gray-white roots stretching from the ceiling to the floor of the mausoleum were the World Tree's final struggle.
Mapheltan followed the World Tree's roots down beneath the mausoleum.
When his feet touched the ground, gray-white dust scattered into the air.
Withered flowers crumbled into ash.
It was a void that had already died before anyone could step upon it.
Everything before his eyes was the same.
Only their forms barely remained. There was no life anywhere.
Only one thing truly existed.
Blind malice. Deep-rooted hatred covered the entire mausoleum.
──Ah, ah! The full moon has returned!
──Someone, pull that moon down!
──I don't want to see it. Get that detestable light out of my sight at once!
──Mother is shedding tears. Another intruder has entered!
Faint moonlight seeped into the snow-white forest.
Under the moonlight, the gray-white vegetation cast sinister shadows. Black silhouettes darted through the darkness between them.
‘They're coming.’
The dead had sensed the intruder and were racing forth.
White dust swirled behind them as though they were charging across snow.
All kinds of monstrous cries erupted from every direction. Screams and wails shook the entire mausoleum.
The noise was lethal to humans.
Raguel fell into a panic. Instinctive terror overtook him.
He clutched his head and began to convulse.
“D-Don't come any closer! Get out of my head, please!”
A chilling echo spread through the folds of his brain.
Raguel's entire body twisted as he limped forward.
Unconsciously, he was fleeing from fear.
Zalkarin sneered.
“Idiot. He's practically begging them to make him their target. Stop acting foolish and come back.”
Mapheltan spoke calmly.
“Leave him.”
Confusion filled Zalkarin's expression.
“But, great End, if you leave him like that, the little one will die.”
As far as Zalkarin could tell, Raguel was important to Mapheltan. Raguel was needed whenever they opened the Forbidden Archive, and surely he had a purpose in this mausoleum as well.
Yet Mapheltan was telling Zalkarin to leave Raguel in danger. Zalkarin could not understand his intentions.
Mapheltan said, “Watch quietly.”
Raguel still wandered alone.
The distance between them had grown considerable.
“Please, stop! Get out!”
The blind boy flailed his arms before falling into the ash-gray brush.
Withered blades of grass crumbled and scattered like dust.
Black silhouettes moved swiftly through the drifting powder.
──A child of the moon!
──One of those red-blooded creatures!
──How dare you come here without knowing where you are!
Jade-colored eyes began to shine one after another.
Gazes steeped in hatred gathered around Raguel.
──Tear out his heart and offer it to Mother!
──With red blood, we will soothe our resentment!
Malicious breaths slowly swept away the dust.
At last, the dead revealed themselves.
Ash-gray monsters. Pale gray demons surrounded Raguel.
Their dry skin was cracked like earth in a drought, and their gaunt bodies resembled starving beasts.
Their mouths endlessly spewed hatred. Their formerly pointed ears now drooped lifelessly.
Only their jade eyes spoke of the innocent past they had once possessed.
Those once cherished by nature itself. The forgotten ancient race, the Elves, filled Mapheltan's vision.
They packed the forest as densely as a swarm of termites.
‘What a terrible curse.’
It was difficult to find even a trace of their former glory in the demons they had become.
Only dry resentment remained.
Zalkarin muttered, “This is farewell for the little one, then.”
The corrupted Elves had reached Raguel. No human could survive within such dreadful malice.
Countless demonic hands shot toward Raguel at once.
Mapheltan spoke.
“He still has plenty of use. It would be a waste to throw him away like this.”
“But...”
At the same time, the demons stopped moving. The hands reaching for Raguel all froze.
Mapheltan raised the corner of his mouth.
“Just as I expected.”
The ash-gray monsters cried out as one.
“Watcher of Narak───! The scent of those hateful beings───!”
Their roar-like screams made the entire mausoleum tremble.
The Elves were in great turmoil.
They could not kill Raguel. It was because of the Prohibition given by the Moon.
『 Let not the prisoners of the First Zone dare avert their eyes from the Moon's gaze. 』
The Moon's gaze referred to the Myatro bloodline.
If they killed them, they would escape the Moon's gaze.
That would violate the Prohibition.
It was impossible for mere mortals.
They could not kill the hated humans before their eyes. One would expect them to rage and tremble with fury, but the Elves were instead filled with joy.
Some even danced with delight.
Zalkarin stared at them with a dumbfounded expression.
“Great End, please grant this ignorant evil creature an answer! Why are they convulsing with happiness?”
Mapheltan spoke.
“The Elves long for the birth of a new World Tree. They have already prepared the seed. One of the finest fertilizers for that seed is the Myatro bloodline. From their perspective, a treasure named Raguel has rolled right into their hands.”
Zalkarin said, “So the little one will be taken away and killed in the end.”
Mapheltan shook his head.
“Because of the Prohibition, the Elves cannot kill Raguel. They'll likely keep him alive and drain only his vitality.”
An eerie light appeared in Zalkarin's expression.
“Now I understand. While the little one buys us time, is there not another objective we must achieve?”
“The World Tree's seed. That is our first objective.”
“...We are stealing their treasure?!”
“Something like that.”
Zalkarin let out an admiring exclamation.
“If we simply follow them, the place where the seed is hidden will naturally be revealed!”
“Exactly. The Elves will guide us to their sanctuary.”
The heart of the World Tree was well hidden. It would be difficult to locate by ordinary means.
But things changed if they used Raguel. The Elves, distracted by him, would lead Mapheltan to the seed's cradle.
Zalkarin exclaimed in admiration.
“I am always astonished by your boundless knowledge and magnificent schemes!”
Mapheltan clicked his tongue.
“I have no need for an incompetent fool who only knows how to flatter. One day, you will have to prove your worth, so do not miss chances to grow like this.”
Narak overflowed with poisonous Demonic Energy and malice. If the Imp simply breathed properly here, it would grow.
Zalkarin spoke, somewhat intimidated.
“...I swear I will meet your expectations.”
Mapheltan began walking.
“I'll trust you for now.”
The Elves lifted Raguel and began moving.
Mapheltan immediately followed them.
* * *
It felt as though he was trapped inside a cramped iron cage. No matter how he struggled, he could not move even his little finger.
Within absolute terror and darkness, Raguel could do nothing.
He could only collapse beneath the blind malice directed at him.
It was familiar, too.
Before Johan had appeared, Raguel's life had been much like this.
He had always suffered beneath his father's resentment and violence. Just as he did now, he had repeatedly been trapped alone in darkness, trembling in fear.
He had never properly resisted even once.
This helplessness was his life itself.
He had briefly forgotten it thanks to Johan, but his nature had not changed.
A weak and worthless cripple. A coward who could not stand up proudly. A frightened fool who only knew how to wipe away tears. That was the kind of person he had always been.
Once he realized it, his heart felt a little lighter.
Rather than resist in fury, shrinking back suited him better.
Raguel stopped screaming. He no longer struggled.
Like before, he began submitting to his fate.
He accepted his fear.
He became isolated alongside the darkness.
A twisted sense of comfort came over him.
At that moment, his ears rang.
“Resist!”
The blind boy slowly raised his head.
Two crimson eyes stared at him from the darkness.
It was a familiar gaze. A faint light that had once pulled him from the darkness that had swallowed him.
“...J-Johan?”
The red light gradually approached him. A fairy-like figure flickered before the blind boy's eyes.
It was the Dream Demon.
“Struggle and fight! Do not give up! This time, seize your fate yourself!”
Its voice drowned out the screams and wails of the dead.
The self that had been isolated in darkness slowly began to surface.
“Johan! Are you there?! Please get me out! Please, please!”
The black fairy fluttered its wings.
“Do not rely on me. Rise on your own!”
“B-But...!”
“Move your body! Keep struggling until you collapse from exhaustion!”
Raguel choked up.
“I tried! But I can't do it! Do you even know what my body is like?!”
The Dream Demon giggled.
“I don't. But if it were me, I'd resist until I died! Shouldn't we at least give this shitty world the finger?! Let's struggle together until we're on the verge of death!”
Raguel bit down hard on his lip. He gradually tried to put strength into his limbs.
They still would not move.
“I can't move. I really can't.”
“If your limbs are giving you trouble, use your hands and feet! If even that is impossible, bite with your teeth! I will remove the Spirit-Demon Barrier Mask for you.”
“W-What exactly am I supposed to...?”
“I'll help you a little.”
The black fairy gradually changed shape.
It began transforming into a familiar figure.
Raguel swallowed hard.
“F-Father?”
Gryan's spiteful face stood before him.
“Bite down on his nose! Let him know you can still writhe when he tramples you!”
“B-But...”
Gryan shouted.
“You bastard who was born after eating your mother! As if that was not enough, you are a crippled piece of human waste! Worthless trash!”
Raguel's voice trembled.
“N-No. Stop it.”
Mapheltan's voice seeped into his ears.
“Resist! Tear at his face and flatten his nose!”
Gryan cried out.
“You crippled imbecile! Someone like you should never have been born!”
“No! It wasn't my fault!”
Mapheltan's voice rang out again.
“That's right! Deny it! Let him know who you are!”
Gryan sneered.
“You cannot do anything! At best, you will bury yourself beneath the blankets and wipe away tears like before! Just like your foolish mother!”
Raguel shouted in fury.
“Stop it!”
Mapheltan's voice pierced his mind.
“Yes, now! Bite him!”
Gryan opened his mouth again.
Just as he was about to hurl another insult, Raguel's upper body lurched forward.
His small mouth clamped down on the blunt nose.
A squeal like that of a slaughtered pig rang out.
Raguel's mouth filled with tangy liquid.
An unknown fluid began circulating through the boy's entire body.
His joints twisted, and his blood flowed backward. His vision flickered wildly.
Extreme pain consumed both his soul and body.
He could not even scream.
“Guh, hngh...”
Every part of his body went berserk.
It felt as though he was shedding his skin.
Amid pain that scraped away at his bones and flesh, his surroundings slowly brightened.
Countless clusters of light flooded into his wide-open pupils.
Unfamiliar signals ravaged his brain cells.
His optic nerves convulsed.
His vision flashed.
A familiar voice seeped into his ears.
“See? You can do it. Well done.”
Something landed lightly atop Raguel's head.
At the same time, his surroundings came fully into view.
“How does it feel, High Elf? To be reborn.”
A vicious being was smiling.
In the blind boy's new world.
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