WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

Wizard of the Abyss

[Translator – Aren]

Chapter 136 - Turbidity (12)

"What do you mean by that?”

"The world is hostile toward the Fallen, but it shows no interest in anything else. However, you…”

Heavenly Balance blinked once, then called my name.

"Undercurrent, you survived in this world not by confronting it as a Fallen, but by hiding that fact, didn’t you?”

"Hmm, if we’re being precise, I suppose so.”

"While you hid and the Abyssal Sea could not find you, you may instead have grown accustomed to it and perhaps even reached the point where you could wield it according to your will. That is what I mean.”

It was a possibility I had never once considered, and I found myself unable to respond to her. Heavenly Balance shifted the topic instead.

"Show me your Abyssal Sea. If I understand it, I can give you more precise advice.”

"For now, I can manipulate currents.”

"Currents?”

Instead of explaining, I let a gentle current closely flow past her face so she could feel it.

She flinched slightly, then nodded.

"So something similar to Telekinesis. And what else?”

"I can also crush distant objects with water pressure.”

I demonstrated again.

-Cruuunch!

A wooden doll sitting atop a bookshelf far away was lightly crushed and shattered. This time, her eyes widened in genuine surprise.

"How far does your reach extend?”

"As far as my Tide Sense extends."

"Tide Sense...?”

"Hmm, it’s a little hard to explain—I can know everything within the sea. And since this world is the Abyssal Sea, that means I can, for example, tell what’s happening inside this tower even with my eyes closed.”

"That doesn’t make sense.”

"Then ask me something."

"..."

With a half-doubtful expression, Heavenly Balance posed a question.

"What’s in room 305 on the 31st floor?”

"Hmm, there is no 305, but there is a 304. It’s empty with just a few empty wine bottles scattered on the floor.”

"The color of the wine bottles?”

"Dark blue. That’s pretty unusual.”

"...Then tell me what’s carved beneath the table we’re sitting at right now.”

"Wait here for two days, then kill the one sitting across from you…wait, what is this?”

As I stared at the vicious inscription in disbelief, Heavenly Balance looked even more stunned than I was, resting her chin on her hand as she stared at me.

"That’s something the Grand Sea cannot do. I believed the Abyssal Sea to be nothing more than a derivative of it, but it seems I was mistaken.”

"I suppose it’s because there’s very little light here. I probably developed different senses to mitigate that.”

"In summary, you can sit here, monitor anyone inside this tower, and kill them instantly if you so choose.”

"That sounds rather terrifying when you put it like that.”

"It really is. I’ve seen countless worlds, but…”

She looked around once more, then let out a sigh.

"...This is the first time I’ve seen something so bizarre and overwhelming. In exchange, what kind of burdens did you gain?”

"I can't breathe. If my Water Partition loosens even a little, I’ll instantly get crushed to death. My whole body is cold and trembling, and every movement meets resistance from water, making fast actions difficult.”

"Yes, that level of burden makes it sound fair at least.”

I glared at her slightly brightened expression, then continued while looking at the deep-sea creatures swimming nearby.

"To be honest, these deep-sea creatures are the biggest problem of all, actually."

"Life that dwells within the worlds of the Three Calamities.”

"Yes."

Heavenly Balance knew. Naturally.

If the world hadn’t been swallowed by shadows, this was something I would’ve wanted to learn about from the Scarlet Abyss as quickly as possible.

Suppressing the impatience within my heart, I asked.

“What exactly are these deep-sea creatures? You said they’re lifeforms that live inside the world of the Three Calamities, but I can’t quite grasp it. They’re hostile to me for the most part…though some feel oddly friendly.”

"Most Abyss Realms are created through a single human and are thus small and insignificant."

Heavenly Balance began to explain in a calm, whispered tone.

"But the world of the Three Calamities, due to their vast spatial scale, gives rise to other possibilities. Three enormous worlds in which life can flourish. Naturally, they are limited to spatial types, and the reason they are called the Three Calamities is that every Fallen who awakens to such a world dies.”

"Why?"

"A massive world carries an equally massive burden. Tell me, what do you think would happen if another Fallen were to fall into your Abyssal Sea?”

They would obviously be crushed to death.

"The beings you call deep-sea creatures are actually the original inhabitants of that world. If you conceal your traces, they may regard you as their kin or ignore you altogether. But if you reveal yourself, they will naturally try to eliminate you. Imagine a wolf appearing in a village.”

"And the ones that follow me?”

"A wolf is still a living being of this world.”

Turning to look at me, Heavenly Balance spoke quietly.

"Do not misunderstand. You did not fall into the Abyssal Sea as a human. The abilities you wield are powers possessed only by creatures born into the Abyssal Sea. It’s even possible that you have kin there.”

"...Kin?”

"Yes, at least from their perspective. I can't be certain, but it isn’t strange for them to either help you or oppose you. They are living beings separate from burdens or worlds.”

Jellyfish didn’t exactly feel like my kin, though.

More importantly, I couldn’t accept the idea that the deep-sea creatures weren’t burdens.

They were the most dangerous burden of all.

“What’s your biggest problem right now?”

"My Water Partition is gradually weakening as it bears my burdens. Once it’s completely gone, I’m finished.”

"How do you increase it?”

"Last time, increasing my stars to 2 helped a little. But my talent as a mage is abysmal, so it seems like I’d barely manage to get to 3 stars by the time I’m 80 even if I trained my whole life. That method is practically impossible.”

"Then you don’t have much time left.”

She nodded, then pulled out several blank sheets and a pen.

"However, we do have information. Those deep-sea creatures that live in your world. We may find a solution there. Could you describe their appearances to me?”

"Ah, that won’t be necessary.”

At Heavenly Balance’s puzzled look, I pulled out the deep-sea creature field journal I had been keeping and handed it to her.

She tilted her head as she read, then asked in surprise.

"You’ve been recording things like this all along?”

"I thought it might be useful someday.”

"Well done. This will be a great help.”

She read the book while casually patting my head.

...It really felt like she was treating me as an actual child.

"We’ll need to examine their ecology and behavioral patterns. Wait about a week.”

"Yes. Understood.”

It did feel like she was giving me a bit too much information, but well, I was going to reset through death anyway.

That aside, watching Heavenly Balance seriously pore over my pseudo Pokedex gave me a flicker of hope.

After all, these people had been studying the Fallen for hundred, or even thousands of years. If you had to put it in other terms, they were the ultimate professors of Fallen studies.

Maybe—they really could find a solution.

"Then what should I do in the meantime?”

"Learn what you need to know as a member of the Upper Tier, and take care of some minor tasks.”

"Minor tasks?”

"I won’t assign anything serious, so don’t worry.”

Heavenly Balance pulled several thick books from the shelf and placed them in front of me.

"All the worlds we’ve discovered are recorded here. Ah, and this is the Gospel.”

"The Gospel, ah…that thing?”

"Yes. You won’t be able to read it anyway, so don’t lose it.”

Sure enough, when I opened it, it was filled with sentences that made absolutely no sense to me.

Even if I could read it, I had no intention of doing so. What interested me far more was the book that supposedly recorded all worlds.

"I understand. I can choose any room in the tower, right?”

"Yes. Other Fallen may visit from time to time. Use your own judgment when that happens.”

"Yes, I will.”

I was about to leave when a sudden thought occurred to me.

"By the way, Heavenly Balance—no, lady shrine maiden.”

"Do you still have a question?”

"It’s nothing major. I was just wondering…what is your purpose?”

The pen she had been moving nonstop came to a sudden halt.

"If the other executives act to fulfill their own purpose, then what is it that you are here to do?”

"...A manufactured shrine maiden has no purpose of her own. If I had to name one, it would be to finish the job.”

"What job?”

Her voice slowed and pierced straight through me.

"The reason I was born was to return the shrine maiden to normal.”

"What does that mean?”

"If you remain in the Upper Tier, you’ll learn eventually.”

She didn’t look like she wanted to talk about it any further.

I nodded and stepped back.

"Understood.”

I didn’t have enough information yet anyway.

And there were far more things I had to worry about besides Heavenly Balance.

* * *

Three days passed.

And I came to understand a truth that wasn’t particularly new.

These bastards were completely insane—

And the princess was basically a god.

"What the hell…? What is all this?”

Among the materials Heavenly Balance had handed me were record-like ledgers detailing Scarlet Abyss’ activities only accessible by the Upper Tier.

Curious about what kind of atrocities they had committed, I opened them. First I was horrified by the sheer volume of them.

Then I was horrified by the contents.

"5892 incidents in 10 years…?”

I had thought Scarlet Abyss only started showing its ambitions 2 or 3 years ago—but that assumption was completely wrong.

They had been targeting the Empire relentlessly the entire time. And when precise strikes failed, they escalated, trying everything until something finally worked.

And Sharmia had blocked all of it, almost perfectly.

I instantly understood why Great Void had created a fake shrine maiden.

And why, someday, he intended to bring in Sharmia, the real one, herself.

This wasn’t something an individual should be capable of.

'If Sharmia had truly been on Scarlet Abyss’ side…’

The Empire would have fallen long ago.

She was just that unbelievably competent. Blocking every single one of these attempts while simultaneously strengthening the Empire couldn’t be explained away with something as simple as ‘because she’s a regressor.’

It was a blessing, a miracle even, that Sharmia hadn’t fallen. Trying to suppress the chill crawling up my spine, I heard someone knock on the door.

"Come in.”

There was only one person in this tower who would knock on my door anyway.

The door opened as soon as I answered, and Sunken Mire peeked inside.

I thought she was going to complain about being bored again, asking if she could go outside, but her expression was different.

"U-umm…Sir Undercurrent…”

"I still have a lot to study. Can this wait?”

There was still an overwhelming amount I had to study. Scarlet Abyss’ history ran incredibly deep, so I needed to cram as much of it into my head as possible while I still had the chance.

Honestly, I already felt like even dying now would give us a huge advantage with how much high-grade information I had absorbed, but it still felt insufficient.

If I could, I wanted to memorize even more.

Especially about the Veil of Darkness.

I stared at her, silently asking whether this interruption was worth wasting such precious time.

"Th-that’s…”

Sunken Mire hesitated, then spoke carefully.

And the name that left her lips was one I never expected at all.

"Sir Vile Blood is here to see you…”

...Ah.

Right.

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