WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

Wizard of the Abyss

[Translator – Aren]

Chapter 178 - Oblivion (3)

"It’s not that I remember nothing at all. If it were a spell refined to that extent, I would have noticed long ago. It’s just incredibly difficult to detect. If not for what you said, I might never have realized.”

Dercia continued calmly. Even so, I couldn’t fully grasp what she was saying.

"Then how did you realize it?”

"Because of my upbringing.”

"Huh?"

Dercia tapped her temple lightly. Only then did I understand what she meant.

"Azrael…"

"There’s always the possibility that my memories might slip into that old monster’s mind. If that were to happen, I needed a way to notice immediately. So every night, from the moment I was born up until that very evening, I review every memory I have, second by second.”

"Hmm, is that actually meaningful? If they’re sealed as memories, wouldn’t that make it pointless…?”

"No matter what Azrael tries, he cannot contain my entire life all at once. There will inevitably be losses. If, during my review, I were to find such gaps, I planned to immediately tear open a rift in the world using the highest-ranking magic I could cast.”

"..."

Which meant that if anything strange had happened during her battle with Decay, the world itself could have been torn apart.

Swallowing dryly, I asked for more details.

"So how exactly are memories frozen?”

"Looking back now, the battle with Decay unfolded entirely according to my will. He offered no resistance and fell. In the process, I even found a clue to breaking through a blocked magical realm. In hindsight, it was the wrong approach, though.”

"?”

"False memories.”

Dercia elaborated.

"I always assume every possibility, including the case where my expectations do not become reality. But the battle with him proceeded almost unnaturally perfectly. Every prediction came to be. Every deception was seen through. That should not have been possible.”

"Ah, then…”

"Residue left behind by frozen memories.”

She spoke with a deep frown, clearly annoyed.

"That’s what it is. If he wins, it ends there. If he loses, the opponent is left to judge him using contaminated memories alone. A truly vicious ability. And on top of that, it gradually delays, though?”

"Yes. That’s what I thought was its core.”

"...That’s beyond merely difficult to deal with.”

After a brief pause, Dercia turned the question back on me.

"But Jern, didn’t you also feel your thoughts slowing?”

"Yes. I did.”

"Then why do your memories remain intact?”

"Hmm..."

I tilted my head, feeling confused.

"I’m not sure myself. Maybe it just doesn’t work on the Three Calamities.”

"That possibility will need to be taken into consideration.”

With a sigh, Dercia pushed Decay’s photo aside.

"You should leave Decay for last when subjugating the Upper Tiers. Unless it’s proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that you can handle him, interference with cognition is far too dangerous. In the worst case, you might even forget that you’re inside the Abyssal Sea.”

"That’s certainly true.”

If it merely slowed thought, that alone would already make it extremely difficult to confront him, but if it went so far as to erase memories completely, then resolve alone would never be enough.

Just knowing that he existed forced one to doubt every thought one had.

But then a question appeared in my head.

'Then how does that bastard overcome it himself?’

Simply dragging someone into his world would cause most people to gradually lose their memories, freezing them both mentally and physically.

However, as with the Abyssal Sea, a world that puts burdens on others also puts the same burdens on its owner. Which means he, too, was bearing the burden of that Absolute Frost.

He would be losing memories every moment of every day. Even if he could endure the physical side of it by forcing his entire body into a state of constant fever, how does he deal with the mental part?

'Surely…Back then…'

When I infiltrated Scarlet Abyss and met Decay.

There had been something slightly off at the time. As I struggled to grasp a thought that felt just out of reach, Dercia handed me another document.

"What about the Lump’s ability?”

"Ah, that one’s absolutely no good.”

I firmly shook my head.

"Why is that?"

"First of all, the ability itself is disgusting. And it doesn’t suit the Abyssal Sea at all.”

If I couldn’t properly endure the Abyssal Sea, reviving in another body was just meaningless. I’d just die again soon anyway, so what’s the point?

Worse still, if the deep-sea creatures were to gain that ability, the consequences would be just absurd. Even if I consumed it, it had no practical uses. Killing that thing would feel satisfying, and that was about it.

"More importantly, you can’t even kill it. I honestly can’t imagine how I’d ever deal with that thing.”

"Yes. Other than killing all of humanity, I couldn’t see a method either.”

"..."

The way Dercia said that so calmly made it clear that she wasn’t joking. It sounded as though she had genuinely considered that option.

She moved on to another document.

"What about this one?”

"..."

Heavenly Balance.

Just seeing the name made a faint sense of aversion rise within me.

Perhaps noticing my hesitation, Dercia studied my eyes with mild curiosity.

"Is something the matter?”

"...No. Heavenly Balance is…”

In the end, they were all the same sort of monsters.

I pushed the stray thoughts aside and was about to answer when…

-Clunk.

"?”

The imperial palace shook slightly.

An earthquake? Tilting my head in confusion, I activated my Tide Sense.

But there were no signs of anything unusual. I opened my mouth again and—

-Thud…fssssh...

Another tremor echoed, dust drifting down from the ceiling.

"...Jern."

"Yes."

"Have you received any reports of something happening around this time in the future?”

"None at all.”

"Let’s hope that truly nothing happens."

We immediately left the room and called over a guard who was running by in a hurry.

"What’s going on? What was that tremor just now?”

"...We’ve received a report that the weather has drastically changed.”

"What?"

"I-I don't know either. I’m sorry. I was urgently summoned.”

After dismissing the visibly confused guard, I exchanged a look with Dercia and stepped out of the imperial palace.

The first thing I noticed was that the sky was dark.

It was evening, sure, but it wasn’t time for the sun to have set yet.

Something felt off, as if the sun had been sent far away.

"...This feels ominous. Could this be the influence of Veil of Darkness as well?”

"Jern..."

"Yes?"

"Look at your mouth.”

"My mouth?”

Seeing Dercia’s serious expression, I brushed at my lips, then saw white breath.

It was flowing from my mouth.

"It’s early fall, but I guess it’s pretty cold. I don’t really feel it, though.”

"...I’m cold too. Quite cold.”

Despite her words, no breath came from Dercia’s mouth at all.

"Let’s go outside.”

The weather inside the palace was different from outside. We pushed past guards running back and forth and reached the entrance.

The palace gates, which should have been tightly shut, were slightly open. Guards were entering from outside—but their uniforms were different.

Normally, palace guards wore red uniforms, the symbol of the Empire. But those entering now wore white.

"What’s going on? What is this?! And what’s with your eyes?”

"C-Captain, the weather’s strange…!”

"What do you mean by that?”

"Y-you should go outside and see for yourself..."

Only after hearing the guards speak did I realize that the uniforms were white from frost and snow.

We hurried out of the palace, and a white city spread out before us.

"...This is..."

-Puff.

Like something straight out of a fairy tale, a beautiful city of snow. I stood there dumbfounded, mouth agape, and the moment I stepped forward, my leg sank into the snow up to my knee.

No matter how I looked at it, it was an amount of snow that suggested days of uninterrupted snowfall.

However, just a few hours ago, there hadn’t been so much as a drop of rain in the capital, let alone snow.

After staring blankly at the snow-covered buildings for a moment, I pushed my Tide Sense further, scanning every corner of the capital.

[There’s a strange noise coming from the roof!]

[Get out! Everyone get out. It’s about to collapse! There’s too much snow piled up!]

[Th-the door won’t open… Please open it from the outside!]

[...Just wait a moment. I’ll break the window—]

[...It started snowing an hour ago?]

[Yes. According to citizen testimonies, it began as sleet and then suddenly…it started coming down in sheets.]

[Does that make any sense? Even if it snowed heavily for an entire week, it wouldn’t pile up like this, you know...?]

[We need to get the horses out right now! They’ll freeze to death!]

[You crazy bastard, are horses more important than people? It's about to collapse! Get over here!]

[Oh dear, what kind of disaster is this supposed to be...]

The capital was thrown into chaos.

With no countermeasures in place, a sudden snowfall severe enough to be called a natural disaster was already causing casualties.

Dercia, who had been calmly observing the entire scene, suddenly lit a flame and held her hand beneath it.

A shadow appeared. A normal shadow, standing still and obediently following the light source.

Watching that, Dercia muttered quietly.

"Veil of Darkness has disappeared. It seems another world has been spread in its place.”

The future had changed.

Veil of Darkness had been replaced by something else.

By a far more horrific and cruel world.

Still staring up at the sky, from which snow continued to fall without pause, Dercia asked,

"You said this phenomenon would soon disappear. That it couldn’t be sustained because the number of World-Sealing Elixirs needed would be unsustainable. Is that correct?”

"Yes. That much is certain.”

"Then it should be an extreme burden for Scarlet Abyss as well to spread Absolute Frost like this. It will end much faster, or they may even lose Decay altogether. And yet they chose this method.”

"...It’s an invitation.”

I answered through clenched teeth.

The damage caused by the Veil of Darkness had been significant, but thanks to the princess’ swift response, it was ultimately contained. In exchange, the enemy neither lost the Veil of Darkness nor went further than demonstrating what they were capable of.

If that act had been bait meant to draw me, the Abyssal Sea, in.

Then now, they had simply swapped the carrot for the whip.

[Big brother, I’m cold…]

[Just hold on a little longer. People will come save us soon…]

[Damn it! Bring fire, boiling oil, anything! The door won’t open!]

[Th-the snow isn’t melting…! What is this? Is this really snow?]

-Crunch.

As I clenched my fist while taking in every disaster happening all at once through my Tide Sense, Dercia offered a cautious warning.

"Don’t think too deeply about it. The best course is not to respond.”

"Master. I’m sorry.”

"...Jern."

"This isn’t just happening in the capital. It’s happening in every city, isn’t it?”

"..."

Looking over the white hellscape, I spoke calmly.

"We’ll have to change the order."

It seemed the first Upper Tier that needed to die had already been decided.

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