WETRIED TRANSLATIONS
Wizard of the Abyss
[Translator – Aren]
Chapter 119 - Using One Evil to Fight Another (9)
"Ah…No…”
"What is all this?”
I ignored Number 1, who stood there with his mouth hanging open, and knelt properly as I answered Nightfall’s question.
"Compared to the grace you’ve bestowed upon me, it felt like far too small a contribution. So I brought a few more family members. I only hope it won’t be a burden on you.”
"...This is something you should not have done.”
Grinding his teeth, Number 1 stepped forward, glaring straight at me.
It seemed like he was suppressing his hostility in front of Nightfall, but when I focused my Tide Sense on him, I could sense his heart pounding violently.
So this wasn’t the outcome he wanted.
"If we recklessly increase the family like this without thinking about the consequences, the other Upper Tiers will start watching us. Haven’t they already been dissatisfied with how benevolent Lady Nightfall is?”
"Hmm, that’s true.”
Nightfall murmured.
I had heard about this before—apparently, the Upper Tiers were quite wary of Nightfall expanding her family.
Well, it made some sense. They couldn’t possibly condone turning the Fallen of the Lower Tier, human resources usable by all of the Upper Tiers, into her personal servants.
They might tolerate it to a certain degree, since they ultimately were all working toward the same goals, but what I had done had gone far beyond what they might tolerate.
Nightfall looked regretfully at the 50 Fallen and shook her head.
"I’m sorry, big brother, but I think we’ll have to keep only three and send the rest back. Even if they don’t care much about the Lower Tiers, forcibly taking this many…”
"No. I didn’t take them forcibly.”
"Hmm?”
Of course.
I had accounted for that already.
While Nightfall tilted her head in confusion, I turned my gaze toward the Fallen I had ‘brought.’
The hesitant ones straightened their postures, then knelt decisively and spoke as one, their expressions showing their determination.
"Lady Nightfall, please accept us!”
"We beg of you!”
Thud!
As they slammed their heads into the floor, Nightfall asked in genuine puzzlement.
"What is all this?”
"We were deceived all this time. We believed all that unjust slander, that becoming Lady Nightfall’s puppets, ah, I mean, family members, meant nothing but a horrific end—that we would lose all thought, be unable to even die, and be condemned to stare at death for eternity, so we stayed away…”
"But after hearing Sir Undercurrent’s words, we realized we had only been throwing ash into our own eyes!”
"Words?”
I shrugged.
"They’re exaggerating. I merely had an honest conversation with them.”
It had been a while since I had really put my skills to use.
Naturally, the Lower Tier was also a place where people lived and where all kinds of things were traded. The only difference was that instead of money, transactions were done with World-Sealing Elixirs.
Using the enormous stockpile of pills I had accumulated, I bought information from the keepers.
Of course, since they didn’t trust me much, I couldn’t purchase anything truly critical. But even so, it was easy to find weaklings, those that were clearly doomed and wouldn’t last long anyway in the Lower Tier.
I lured those people together with World-Sealing Elixirs.
And then I persuaded them.
"Thanks to that, our eyes were opened! Lady Nightfall, we will devote everything we have to you. Please accept us!”
Some of the Fallen even shed tears. People driven into a corner entrust their lives to others far more easily than one might expect.
I slipped a little closer to Nightfall, who was wearing a bewildered expression, and added some further explanation.
"We did a bit of a tour, you see. If you go down to the Lower Tier now, everyone will already know that they came to you of their own accord, Lady Nightfall. How could anyone stop that?”
No matter how much the Upper Tiers disliked Nightfall’s behavior, they couldn’t very well block people who came willingly.
In other words, I had hit a perfect homerun.
I was supposed to bring 3, and instead I brought 50 Fallen that no one would miss if they disappeared. And that method could be reused again and again.
Now, all that remained was to see Nightfall’s reaction.
Would she scold me for doing something unnecessary, or would she let it slide, or—
"...Haah."
While I was focused on her shifting mood, she suddenly let out a deep sigh.
"Big brother."
"Yes."
"You really do love me, don't you?”
Well, at least that didn’t sound like the worst possible outcome.
Smiling gently, Nightfall suddenly raised her hand and stroked my shoulder.
Threads descended where her delicate fingers brushed, tightly coiling around me.
And the number of threads was quite unusual.
"Sacrifice is beautiful. Even more so when it’s done without expecting a reward.”
"...Thank you.”
I was flustered by how many threads I received, and it didn’t even end there.
"I still can’t increase our family yet, so treat them as your children.”
I didn’t know all the details, but it sounded like she wanted me to keep them as my own puppets.
When I sent the threads down and bound the Fallen, they gagged briefly before falling into the same state as the prisoner I had bound first.
I was definitely different from them. It seemed only Nightfall could truly increase the family. The rest of us could only increase these so-called “children.”
And by ‘children’ they clearly meant those in this zombie-like state. After putting all 50 of those Fallen into that condition, Nightfall patted my back as if praising me.
"Well done. But… you’re still wearing that mask? Didn’t you say it was because of your burdens?”
“Yes. It doesn’t hurt anymore, but it’s become a habit. I feel uneasy without it.”
"Hmm, well, if that’s the case. You must’ve worked hard. Go and rest today.”
"Thank you.”
As Nightfall skipped away in high spirits, Number 1 followed behind her, then shot me a fierce gaze sharp enough to kill.
I answered it with a light smile.
I honestly didn’t know what he was planning to do.
If he got angry over something like this, he wouldn’t last long at all.
* * *
From that day on.
With Nightfall’s permission, my main stage of activity became the Lower Tier rather than Manganji.
The method was usually the same. I gathered Fallen scattered across various regions by dangling World-Sealing Elixirs as bait, then preached to them.
"So what you’re saying is that becoming Lady Nightfall’s puppet is the only way to escape our burdens without any side effects?”
"That’s right.”
"No, how are we supposed to believe that?”
"Then explain this. I’m standing right here, aren’t I?”
The name Undercurrent was already fairly well known among the Lower Tiers.
For someone like me to openly declare allegiance to Nightfall and still appear perfectly sane while continuing to proselytize made most people think it was at least worth hearing me out once. Especially with World-Sealing Elixirs involved.
If I may add one more thing. In my opinion, Nightfall should have played at religion rather than family.
Her abilities were far better suited for that.
"Look! I no longer feel any burden at all, and I’m perfectly fine! Yes, at first you’ll lose yourself and be used like a doll. But once that period of atonement ends, you’ll become part of her family, just like me, and be promised eternal life.”
"O-ooh…?”
"Yes, I know you fear losing yourself more than death. But think logically. Do you really believe eliminating your burden would cost only one life? Enduring a brief period of hardship to live on as her family….”
When one kept talking like that, even those who started out suspicious would begin to nod along after a while.
Of course, they’d heard the rumors about Nightfall, so they wouldn’t believe me so easily.
But ultimately, weren’t they already people destined to die after spending their lives swallowing World-Sealing Elixirs?
Religion had always existed for people like them. Those at the very bottom.
"I-I think… I want to believe…”
"Tsk, no one’s ever come back! How can you trust something like that?!”
"..."
Even so, every week I could reliably bring around 10 Fallen to Manganji.
For Nightfall, who previously either bought Fallen with World-Sealing Elixirs or increased her numbers by only one or two a month due to the other Upper Tiers’ scrutiny, this was an overwhelming success.
Three weeks. That was all it took for me to become her ace.
In that time, the threads wrapped around my body multiplied, reaching tens of thousands. And inside my mind, more than a hundred remotes had formed.
Internally, that was the scale of the change.
Externally, well.
"Number 33, you’ve brought more faithful believers again.”
"Fewer than usual today.”
It wasn’t much, but I had become acquainted with a few of the other family members.
Stepping down from the dragon’s back, something that I had grown used to by now, and handing over the half-dead Fallen to my ‘children,’ Number 11, a man in his early thirties who served as Nightfall’s grandmother, clicked his tongue in amazement.
"You’re using your puppets quite skillfully now.”
"Yes. It’s not that difficult, right?”
"Well, sure. But you still learn pretty fast.”
In truth, once one bound a puppet with one’s threads, all one had to do was issue commands. After praising me a few times, Number 11 finally got to the point.
"Number 1 is calling for you.”
"Hmm, I see."
"Don’t get on his bad side too much. And don’t even think about fighting him. You’re no match.”
"How could I ever oppose our mother that is as lofty as the heavens?”
In reality, it was Number 1 who was desperately trying to devour me whole.
The moment I entered the capital’s castle and tied my horse in the stable, he appeared behind me with a displeased expression.
It seemed he had been waiting.
"Ah, Sir Number 1. I heard you were looking for me.”
"..."
Since this wasn’t the first time I had felt hostility from him, I calmly let it slide.
Gritting his teeth, Number 1 finally spoke up.
"Lady Nightfall is summoning you. Be on the royal hall terrace by evening.”
"Understood. But if that were all, wouldn’t it have sufficed to relay the message through Number 11?”
"I also have something I need to say to you.”
"I’m listening.”
I assumed it would be more of the same provocation as usual.
He masked his hostility slightly, brushed dust from his clothes, and began.
"You probably think I hate you for no reason. That I’m forcing pointless rules on you, or trying to restrain you because you’re doing so well.”
"Not at all. I’ve never thought that even once.”
I answered calmly, though inwardly I was quite surprised. I hadn’t expected him to acknowledge it.
Number 1 let out a sigh, as if he already knew everything.
"Good. Then listen carefully. You need to understand the situation you’re in right now. What you’re doing is truly, incredibly reckless and dangerous.”
"...?"
"At first—yes, there were many people like you. They saw Lady Nightfall’s youthful appearance, her formidable power, and her abnormal obsession with family and sacrifice, and each one of them who had a properly functioning brain reached the same conclusion.”
He glanced up at the sky as if recalling something, then met my gaze again.
"All of them thought that they could use her.”
"How could I possibly harbor such irreverent thoughts toward Lady Nightfall…?”
"Don’t even try to fool me. There have been countless fools who thought that if they just matched the keywords—family, sacrifice—they could manipulate and control her from the side. What you’re doing now is exactly the same. Acting in whatever way you must to win her favor.”
At this point, I started to judge that whatever he had to say was worth listening to.
But Number 1 slowly shook his head, as if warning me not to misunderstand.
"Let me make this clear in advance. It’s impossible. Did you think I was the second-in-command? That because she listens to me, I’m some mastermind pulling the strings? Hah!”
He laughed sharply, mocking himself.
"The reason I’ve remained by her side for so long is because I know my place. I never tried to understand her. Never tried to justify her. I simply fulfilled the role I was given and never crossed the line. I focused solely on maintaining the status quo. Those who failed to do even that all died, and that’s how I ended up where I am…”
"If Lady Nightfall killed her family members, I believe she must have had a just reason.”
"She did have a reason. One that was just to her. And there is no one in this world who can understand her standards…”
Number 1’s tone softened slightly as he tried to persuade me.
"You're already provoking her more than enough. If you try to go any further, you’ll cross the line. Be satisfied with what you’ve gained and stop here.”
"May I ask what motivates you to say this to me?”
"—Because we will be the ones who have to bear the consequences of what you’ve done.”
"Pardon?"
"The whole family will bear responsibility for one family member’s mistakes. I won’t say more. From today onward, stop bringing in Fallen, and stop acting to curry her favor.”
"I see. I understand.”
I smiled gently and nodded.
"However, bringing in believers is something that has already begun. I don’t believe I can stop that now. I hope you can understand that much.”
"...It seems you didn’t understand what I was saying.”
"No. I understood. It’s just that I can’t unilaterally decide to stop doing what Lady Nightfall desires, can I?”
"That’s enough.”
Number 1 stepped back, his expression far colder than before.
His expression no longer showed hostility and instead bore firm resolve.
"You’ve made the wrong choice.”
"Perhaps the very fact that we are even here was the wrong choice.”
There was nothing more to say.
Only action remained between us.
Even if my relationship with Number 1 had now irreparably collapsed, there were still things that had to be done.
For example, answering Nightfall’s summons.
"Ah, big brother. You came?”
"Since you summoned me.”
She was waiting for me on the terrace, bathed in the light of the setting sun.
"I heard you brought more Fallen again today. Good work.”
"Yes. Though lately, the numbers have been decreasing.”
"That’s inevitable. Fewer people will believe your words as time goes on.”
I didn’t know why Nightfall had called for me.
I hadn’t spent that long with her, but she was someone whose mood changed on the drop of a hat.
No matter how hard I tried to read her expression to understand her thoughts…
"Hmm?”
Those dull eyes.
There was nothing to glean from the eyes that were no different from a corpse.
So I didn’t think Number 1 had lied to deceive me.
I had never once believed I could control Nightfall, or that lightly touching on “family” or “sacrifice” would make her move as I wished.
"But there is still a way to bring in more Fallen.”
"Really? That won’t be easy. The Empire now legally protects the natural born, and wizards never travel alone anymore…”
"That’s not what I mean. There is, in fact, another way to extract more from the Lower Tier.”
"Oho?”
Nightfall turned toward me, clearly interested.
But I also knew I didn’t have much time left.
"There are many Fallen in the Lower Tier who can still be given faith. However, they’re uneasy because those who come here never return.”
"Really? Then just bring your children along?”
"They’ll ask questions. Questions only that Fallen would know. If I can’t answer them, then I’ll even lose those that I could have brought back.”
"I see. That would be troublesome.”
"So.”
I raised my head.
"Please allow me to access the memories of our family as well.”
I stated my objective directly.
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