WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Whispers of a Scheming Demon ◈
Chapter 77: The Count's Domain (7)
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“Where exactly is this, Mapheltan?”
Ilea could not take her eyes off the sight spread out below.
The city had clearly become hell, yet traces of an unfamiliar civilization remained.
Burning skyscrapers rose high enough to part the clouds, and winged masses of steel streaked between the buildings.
Enormous frames hanging from spires kept changing their images and emitting strange voices.
“This is an emergency bulletin. The current time is 3:42 PM. Numerous unidentified abnormal entities have been detected over the metropolitan area. Military authorities have designated this a ‘Labyrinth Backflow’ and issued a Level One evacuation order across all areas. Citizens are advised to move immediately to underground shelters or disaster containment zones. Stay away from streets and windows, and under no circumstances look at or listen to unidentified voices or forms.”
The urgent announcement repeated over and over.
Explosions continued to erupt throughout the city.
The smell of gunpowder filled the air.
Mapheltan swallowed a groan. There was no way to explain the current situation.
He spoke to Ilea.
“Because of the Prohibition, I can't tell you anything myself.”
Ilea’s gaze settled calmly.
“Then this is the place that forms the foundation of Mapheltan’s knowledge.”
She was not wrong. Inmarok was a novel from Earth, and Mapheltan had navigated events using the information he gained from that book.
Previously, Mapheltan had not even been able to mention that fact.
The Prohibition had stopped him.
It was the same this time.
Mapheltan could not say anything.
If Ilea wanted the answer, she would have to deduce it herself.
Mapheltan opened his mouth.
“Trust your judgment. That is all I can say.”
Ilea gave him a strange smile.
“For now, that's enough. I've learned one clear thing.”
“What do you mean?”
She slowly swept her gaze over the sight below.
“Your hatred for this world, Mapheltan.”
The world was falling apart. Aimless violence and slaughter continued without end. Everyone in sight was screaming.
Acts committed for destruction alone repeated themselves.
It looked as though they represented someone’s rage.
Mapheltan swallowed a groan.
“...No. I don't hate this world.”
He loved Earth. He wanted to return home. He missed his beloved younger siblings.
Even if he held resentment toward Earth, it was no more than a small fragment.
Ilea spoke.
“Can you still say that after seeing this?”
Everyone on the ground was groaning in agony.
“This scene is only a hallucination. It isn't how I truly feel.”
Ilea shook her head.
“Belzarak shows futures grounded in fact. Some part of Mapheltan’s heart must surely want a situation like this.”
That was an established fact about Belzarak, so Mapheltan could not deny it.
“...What exactly are you trying to say?”
Ilea smiled softly.
“Take this chance to cast all that hatred away. Get rid of every knot of malice in your heart.”
Mapheltan’s expression twisted.
“You want me to immerse myself in this hallucination and destroy this world completely?”
Ilea nodded.
“Yes. Opportunities like this are rare. Wash away every grudge, and let’s become pure together.”
The moment Mapheltan gave himself over to this hallucination, his mind would be tainted.
Ilea had to know that.
Mapheltan’s expression twisted.
“Don't talk shit...”
“I'll help you.”
She suddenly opened her palm.
Deep blue Mana began to swallow everything around them.
Just as Mapheltan tried to react, freezing cold swept through the air.
“Cough, hack!”
The man bound in midair let out a groan.
A long icicle had pierced his chest.
Mapheltan shouted in alarm.
“Joseph!”
Joseph was an idiot, but he was the younger brother Mapheltan treasured most.
Joseph coughed up mouthfuls of blood.
Mapheltan’s reason began to fade.
‘Damn it. No.’
This was all just a hallucination.
He repeated those words over and over, clinging to his sanity.
Mapheltan held Joseph in his arms and turned his gaze toward Ilea.
Ilea looked at him as though he were pathetic.
“That look doesn't suit the Master of All Evil at all.”
Mapheltan spoke as though chewing on blades.
“...Who are you?”
Ilea had wanted Mapheltan to retain his humanity.
Mapheltan had never understood why, but she had clearly been wary of his corruption.
The Ilea before him was different.
Now, she was urging Mapheltan toward corruption.
Ilea spoke.
“I'm everything to Mapheltan. I can become anything.”
Her appearance suddenly changed.
She became Joseph.
Mapheltan immediately looked down at his arms.
Ilea was there instead of Joseph.
She smiled with her eyes.
“Like this.”
Mapheltan grimaced and hurled her down.
Ilea was smiling even as she fell.
“...Belzarak.”
Just as he was about to chase after it and beat it to death, black blood burst from Mapheltan’s mouth.
A long blade had pierced his abdomen.
Joseph spoke as he drove the knife into him.
“Johan, I've always thought you were fucking awful. A lowly Unawakened nobody, always ordering me around and nagging me. Do you know how ridiculous you looked?”
Enduring the pain, Mapheltan grabbed Joseph by the chin.
“Belzarak, you filthy little vermin.”
Joseph smiled unpleasantly.
“Yes, kill me. Twist my neck. Go on, take revenge on the world that despised you!”
Mapheltan desperately held on to his reason.
He barely lifted the corner of his mouth.
“Belzarak, you formless and insubstantial void. You parasite that lives only in imagination, I know you well. You are nothing but filth excreted onto the nightmares of others.”
Joseph changed shape.
An unfamiliar girl appeared.
Kim Elijah. One of Johan’s younger sisters.
“Oppa, can you stop touching me? Honestly, it makes me sick. I'm scared it'll rub off on me and I won't be able to Awaken either. Please disappear from my life. I'm begging you.”
Mapheltan gripped her even harder.
“Changing your shell will not change your essence. You are merely a pitiful illusion that envies those with blood and flesh. Poor imitator, I will look upon you as you truly are. Show me your original form.”
Elijah’s expression twisted sharply.
It began changing forms again.
Mapheltan did not miss that moment.
He stared straight into Elijah’s eyes and continued.
“How long will you borrow the eyes and mouths of others to prove your existence and speak? I, the Thirteenth Apostle of the End, will behold the true Belzarak. I will grant you the blood and flesh you have longed for and make you a real being.”
Elijah’s transformation stopped.
With her grotesquely swollen face, she spoke.
“...How could someone like you do that?”
“You have no choice. The Witch has likely woken from the hallucination by now.”
Ilea knew about Belzarak’s Authority. Since she had even observed its method of attack, there was no way she would fall victim to its hallucinations.
Elijah’s expression darkened.
“That bitch really was a Witch.”
“You should have chosen your target more carefully. You're wasting my time, so end the hallucination.”
Mapheltan had almost fully recovered his reason as well.
He also knew Belzarak well, and as an Apostle, he possessed high resistance to mental attacks.
Even after experiencing dozens of hallucinations, the chance of losing himself was nearly nonexistent.
Mental attacks and Words of Authority worked best against beings inferior to their user.
Even if this continued, it would only become a meaningless war of attrition.
Elijah spoke.
“Will you really give me a physical form?”
Its ability was useful. Keeping it close would be a great help in many ways.
Mapheltan nodded.
“Let me see your true form first.”
The moment he finished speaking, his vision shattered with a crash.
The gray-white sealed chamber appeared before him once more.
One thing was different.
A transparent coffin sat alone in the center of the chamber.
The Celestial Womb. A cradle that gestated angels.
The skeleton lying inside the coffin was likely the Count’s wife.
Ilea approached with a forced smile. For some reason, her smile held a trace of cruelty.
Her gaze turned toward the floor.
Something black and slimy was writhing there.
It was Belzarak. It had no eyes, nose, or mouth. It looked like filthy water condensed in a sewer.
Mapheltan spoke.
“I didn't find it pleasant either.”
Killing intent flickered in Ilea’s eyes.
What sort of nightmare had she seen? Mapheltan was quite curious.
Ilea looked at Belzarak and spoke.
“I'm still angry. May I destroy it now?”
She was displaying her emotions that openly. She had surely experienced an extremely vicious hallucination.
‘I should ask her later.’
Mapheltan spoke.
“Hold back a little longer. It's useful for now.”
Ilea let out a long sigh.
“I suppose it is. What do we do now?”
Mapheltan casually sat on the glass coffin.
“We wait for the Count.”
The ultimate purpose of coming here was Count Staviana.
They were ready to welcome him.
Mapheltan’s expression was relaxed.
* * *
The Count headed to the basement the moment he arrived at the estate.
He intended to go directly to the Shadow Realm.
The basement of the Count’s residence and the third level of the Shadow Realm were connected in a straight line.
The Count immediately stepped onto the elevator.
When someone infused it with Mana, the elevator began to move.
The Count closed his eyes.
‘Yeriyan, please be safe.’
His heart pounded. He could not even imagine losing his wife.
The descent felt eternal.
At last, the elevator stopped.
“Y-Your Excellency!”
“Wait...”
Ignoring the followers of the Cult of the Evil God, the Count headed straight for the sealed chamber.
He ran quickly.
Two figures came into view in the distance.
‘The Apostle and the Mage.’
That was what the report had said.
Reality was different.
The Count’s expression filled with confusion.
A boy and a girl were sitting on the Celestial Womb.
He steadied his breathing and looked ahead again.
They were indeed a boy and a girl.
There was no demon or Mage.
The boy smiled and spoke.
“Cromwell Staviana. I will give you two choices.”
The Count was utterly bewildered.
“W-What is this...?”
“First, follow your wife into the afterlife. Second, make a deal with me and grow old with your wife in this life.”
Ilea smiled softly.
“Go on, choose. Whichever you choose, you can remain with your wife for the rest of your life.”
Johan tapped the glass coffin with his index finger.
“Answer quickly. How long do you plan to keep your wife waiting?”
The Count’s mind could not keep up with the situation.
He stood frozen for a long time with a blank expression.
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