WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

Wizard of the Abyss

[Translator – Aren]

Chapter 68 - Undercurrents (7)

"..."

The Lump stared at me in disbelief, then let out a burst of amused laughter.

"Kill me…? You say that so easily. Even I can’t do that.”

"What?”

"Before you start talking about killing and whatnot—you haven’t realized that it isn’t over yet?”

The Lump blinked once. And then, I felt a ripple spread through the Abyssal Sea.

It wasn’t a big reaction, but it was enough for me to know that this thing had done something.

"What did you do?”

"Who knows?”

Looking at that filthy grin, a single thought struck me like lightning.

If the Lump could control Elisia while she was asleep and was able to make use of all of Illusory Flower’s abilities—

"You damn piece of shit…”

I immediately got up.

Countless people had fallen victim to that ability. Anyone who had been near Elisia might have been affected by it.

"Ooh, so you figured it out? But you're too late. There’s no way you can track down every noble I messed with. At least not with the time you have left.”

It started to mock me, but I had no time to get angry at that. I pulled out the communication orb after making one final threat.

"Do you really think it’s impossible?”

"Definitely."

"Then just keep watching from over there.”

No matter whether they were a Scarlet Abyss executive or a goddamn janitor.

"I’ll be coming to grant your wish very soon.”

Before I shut the door, I saw the Lump wearing Elisia’s face smile as if it felt like things were getting interesting now.

-Bang!

Brimdal was standing outside the room, his face blank.

"Please keep an eye on that thing.”

"Hmm, are you sure you don’t need help?”

It seemed like he inferred what was going on from the conversation I was having inside the room. But I shook my head.

"It’s fine. There’s someone else I’ll be asking for help.”

Even though Brimdal would be a huge help right now, what was more important was keeping that Lump from doing anything to Elisia’s body.

I headed for the stables, tapping the orb as I walked. I had been wondering briefly whether she would be asleep at this hour, but—

[What’s the matter?]

Thankfully, she was awake.

Did she foresee this?

...No, she said that she couldn’t see the outcome, so probably not. As I mounted the horse and urged it to run, I explained what was going on.

"I’ve solved the problem.”

[...What?]

"But I think I need someone to clean up after me. I’d like you to lend me a Knight. The strongest, most talented one you know.”

[I see. Understood.]

The princess answered in quite the cheerful voice.

[I’ll send you the finest Knight I know. Where should I send them?]

"The central spire located in the heart of the capital, please. And I’ll need a permit to enter.”

Taking the road would be too slow.

The moment our conversation ended, I made the horse gallop straight down a forest path.

- Whinny!

The horse protested, but I managed to force it with a whip of the reins. I swept aside branches and rocks using my currents as I charged through.

"...Ugh."

Since I was doing so much, the strain I was under was quite something as well.

But I had no choice since taking a longer road would lead to our doom. I arrived in a blink, making the horse vault over the startled gate guards.

"H-hey!”

"Halt!”

Despite their earnest pleas, I didn’t stop. I cut the time needed to reach the capital to less than half the usual.

Reaching the spire, I got down from the horse and looked around. I saw a short-statured Knight wearing black armor.

That was obviously quite suspicious, so I asked immediately.

"Did Her Highness send you?”

"I’m Carose, the Imperial Guard’s Knight of Heavenly Retribution.”

"...?"

Something about that voice made me think of the princess.

This person’s face was hidden by that helmet.

It couldn’t be her, right? Judging by the sharper tone, it probably wasn’t…

Carose stared back through the visor of her helmet, clearly displeased.

"What do you need me to do?”

"Yes. First, please grab me and climb up the spire.”

"How high?”

"To the very top.”

"Understood.”

Carose grabbed me by the back of my neck and then ran up the outside wall of the spire.

At an incredibly fast speed, the ground receded in an instant.

The ease with which she was running almost made it seem like she was running through her own living room…It looked like the princess really sent me her strongest Knight.

"Ugh."

I did feel a bit choked, though, since she was holding me by the neck, but since my breathing didn’t really rely on my throat anymore, it was fine.

We reached the highest point overlooking the capital. Carose then asked again,

"What now?”

"Just a moment."

I scanned the area around the rooftop and found a small door leading down. I opened my workshop and retrieved a bunch of bandages and various types of medicine.

I took one of the pearl pills into my mouth but didn’t swallow it.

"Now prepare to treat me. Ah, and from now on, whenever I write something on this paper, you follow it immediately.”

"...Pardon?”

"Prepare to treat me. I’ll be injured soon.”

"Are you planning on jumping? I cannot heal something like that.”

"No. The injury won’t be something as minor as that.”

"...?"

Ignoring Carose’s confused face, I looked down at the capital spreading beneath us.

As expected of the Imperial capital. The night streets were overflowing with vibrant lights. A truly radiant sight that could compete with the cities of the modern world.

"Phew..."

I had to find them.

Right now most of them should be asleep or infected by whatever the Lump did using Illusory Flower’s power. In other words, I could sense them.

However, searching for them one by one would be too slow.

I needed to find all of them at once.

To do that, I had to scan the entire city using Tide Sense.

...Time to gamble.

0.2 seconds. If I used it any longer, I’d die instantly. Praying that I wouldn’t explode immediately, I looked down at the city, murmuring.

"...Spread."

My senses rippled across the whole city.

And then the world vanished.

All light below instantly extinguished, leaving behind a silent world where only I existed.

I could see nothing.

I could hear nothing.

—The grace period built of ignorance came to an end.

[...]

[.....?]

[..........!]

Tide Sense no longer swept the city.

Instead, I felt every resident of that world.

On the other hand, every “thing” that lived in that world also sensed me.

Eyes, arms, legs, organs. None remotely within human comprehension. Every last part of them reacted with excitement.

Something with thousands of eyes inside its mouth sensed me.

Something that wrapped its own shell with its tongue sensed me.

Something with eyeballs on the tip of its tentacles looked at me.

"...Hah."

A laugh of disbelief slipped out of my mouth. I could feel the sensation of their perception licking over me.

I had thought that this was my privilege. An ability earned for being born in this place and surviving. But it actually was an ability all who belonged to that world possessed.

That was the true nature of Tide Sense.

This was proof that I, too, was fully one of them.

My eyes still couldn’t see anything. I felt nothing. Neither sound nor touch.

But I could tell that all those bearings were rejoicing.

[--------------!]

From distances far beyond the range of my perception, they were swimming toward me.

Those devouring others and those being devoured.

All because of me, and me alone.

...Why?

Even in this situation, curiosity came before fear.

Why would beings who should see me as less important than a crumb stuck in their teeth hate me with such intensity?

I was aware of the fact that this world resented me.

But was that truly all there was to it?

As I pondered over these matters, I finally felt something extending towards me from the darkness.

Yellow tendrils.

They wrapped around my leg.

"..."

Was this the end?

That thought flickered through my mind, and then 0.1 second, which felt like an hour, finally passed.

"..............Kgh, ugh, Kehaaaagh...!"

The city lights returned.

The human world. The top of the spire.

And the home I had left behind just 0.1 seconds ago.

I collapsed forward and vomited out everything I had in my stomach.

My thoughts had accelerated to an insane degree. Was this the limit of the burden my body could endure?

"J-Jern?”

Carose rushed to me, seeming quite startled, placing a hand against my back.

"This…isn’t sweat. What is this?”

"P-probably, kgh, seawater.”

My clothes were soaking wet.

This had never happened before. It seemed like I had actually interfered with the real world from that world.

As I kept gagging, Carose grabbed some medicine and bandages and began to strip my clothes without any hesitation.

"Th-the Imperial law…”

"What in the world is this…? You look no different from the corpse of someone crushed to death.”

"Huh...?"

I weakly raised a hand.

My skin had changed color. A deep purple.

My whole body was covered in one massive bruise. And the hot fluid dripping down every time I rubbed my eyes wasn’t tears. It was blood.

So—

"...I got incredibly lucky.”

"What are you talking about?!”

"To be honest, I was prepared to end up deaf or blind.”

Carose froze, her expression showing bewilderment, then she looked down towards the pen and paper I had prepared.

"Don’t tell me that’s why—”

"Yes. I thought I might need a new way to communicate."

"...Why in the world would you do something so risky?!”

"I don’t really need those senses anymore, you know?”

"---You’re out of your mind.”

I was actually quite sane.

With the vast range of Tide Sense, eyes and ears had pretty much lost their meaning.

Tide Sense enabled me to see and hear a lot faster and much more accurately than any of my human senses.

Perhaps thanks to Brimdal’s training, my body instinctively reacted before I could consciously think.

It was to the point that I didn’t even have the time to feel disgust towards that world’s residents. After receiving emergency treatment and taking some painkillers, I steadied myself on the railing and stood up.

"Anyway, I checked everything.”

"What do you mean?”

"Everyone that Elisia came into contact with. I can see them because they were sleeping.”

"You mean to tell me that you surveyed the entire capital just now with whatever you just did?”

"Yes."

In 0.1 seconds, or less, I spread Tide Sense across the whole city and found every contaminated individual.

And in that same moment I managed to discover the absolute limit of the burdens my body could barely endure.

"That’s—rather dangerous."

Carose’s eyes when she looked at me had completely changed.

It felt like she was staring at a bomb that could go off at any moment. When I saw her hand drifting toward the hilt of her sword, I glared at her, rather annoyed.

"Is now really the time for that?”

"...No, my apologies.”

"I understand perfectly well that I pose a threat. But for now, there are far more immediate issues than me, so you can lecture me all you want after this is over.”

"Yes. I understand.”

After coming back to her senses, I wrote down the locations where I sensed those who had fallen victim to the Fallen.

Carose's eyes widened as She scanned the list.

"This is a little problematic.”

"What do you mean?”

"There are nobles among them. What do you intend to do?”

"We can just knock them out.”

If they moved while sleeping, then we just have to make sure that they didn’t sleep. Sleep and unconsciousness were two different states.

Carose frowned at my words.

"That is out of the question. Her Highness has already sacrificed much of her political power to prevent this disaster. Resorting to violence would cost her even more.”

"Let her lose some then. That’s what the circumstances demand.”

"... You've heard from her, so you should understand this. Do you know how a colossal giant called the Empire manages to keep walking forward without stumbling even once?”

Carose suddenly started talking while using strange metaphors.

"Her Highness has foreseen the future of the Empire every single day since she was ten…and I mean literally every single day without any rest, just to protect the Empire. Do you know why?”

"Because she couldn’t stand watching people die?”

"No. Because she was the only one who could do it. She believes being born a princess and given this power has been fate. She could enjoy everything the world has to offer, yet she chose to give all that up for us.”

"Us?”

"Do not forget that you live under Her Highness' grace as well.”

Well, she wasn’t wrong. The orphanage reforms alone saved me.

It was pretty clear that Carose’s feelings for the princess went beyond the loyalty a Knight has for her superior. Something closer to devotion.

"She will continue to do so. For you, this is a single crisis worth risking everything for, but for Her Highness, this is only one of many disasters to come. She cannot afford to sacrifice everything for just one.”

This was so damn annoying. I rolled my eyes and offered my second-best solution.

"Then let’s do this.”

"?"

As I explained the outlines, Carose’s expression hardened, seeming incredulous.

"Are you sane?”

"It’s efficient.”

"..."

She didn’t hesitate for long. While it certainly was a borderline insane approach, considering Carose just tried to kill a young kid like me, she certainly wasn’t the picture of mental stability either.

"Understood.”

"In that case, help me wrap these bandages around me, and then we’ll get going immediately. We don’t have much time.”

"Yes, then… Hm?”

Carose, who was busy wrapping me in bandages, tilted her head.

"Is something wrong?”

"No, it’s just there’s a single spot on your body that isn’t damaged.”

"?"

No way.

My whole body should have been crushed from the pressure.

"Strangely, only this part isn’t bruised.”

I looked where Carose was pointing.

My entire body was stained completely dark purple and blue, but there was exactly one patch of normal skin.

"...Hmm."

It was my ankle. The place where those yellow tendrils had wrapped around me.

* * *

At the mansion of a noble we were targeting.

We hid in the bushes, wearing masks, to which Carose muttered, clearly displeased,

"I agreed to this, but I’m still not convinced that this is the right thing to do. Isn’t this beneath us?”

"Enough small talk. We’re starting.”

I adjusted the mask I had been given and got up.

It was different from the one Sharmia had given me. This one was a lot darker and more ominous.

But at night nobody would be able to tell them apart.

Pouring out of the bushes, I approached the guards standing watch by the gate.

"Halt! Identify yourself.”

"Don’t you recognize me? I’ve come here to investigate before.”

"...?"

The guard squinted his eyes and tilted his head, seeming puzzled.

"No, well, you look a bit different… and the voice—”

It seemed like he remembered the mask rather than the face.

It was exactly what I had hoped for. Before he could deduce anything more, I lifted the guard using a current.

"H-huh?”

I then gently tapped his neck, trying to knock him out without hurting him too much.

"Kgh—"

Swoosh.

I sat him down when I saw that he fainted. At that point, Carose emerged. I gave her instructions while tightening a rope around myself.

"Set the fire, please."

"...Perhaps we are the disaster Her Highness foresaw.”

"You said we can’t knock them out in Her Highness’ name, right?”

Then we could just borrow Scarlet Abyss’ name.

A terrorist attack by someone from Scarlet Abyss, impersonating an Imperial Inspector.

That was how this incident would be interpreted.

"Then, I leave the rest to you.”

"Siiigh…Where?”

"Fourth floor, third window.”

After hearing my directions, Carose gripped one end of the rope tied around me, the other hand grabbing me by the back of my neck again.

"You'd better not die.”

"I can’t die from falling anymore.”

Carose stared at me weirdly, twisted her waist, and threw me towards the mansion.

-Baaaam!

Like a rock fired from a slingshot, I slammed through the window and rolled across the floor.

I softened the landing with my currents as much as I could, but since my body was covered in bruises, it still hurt like hell.

This was the target’s bedroom. I had already confirmed it using Tide Sense. The noble I needed to knock out was right there.

He was already awake.

"Good evening.”

"..."

But he wasn’t normal.

He was staring blankly at me from the bed, his mouth hanging open. He looked exactly like a sleepwalker.

It was definitely different from Elisia, who was possessed by the Lump. It seemed like he was just waiting for orders.

That was most likely it. I couldn’t just leave him like this.

"Sleep tight.”

Choooke-

I choked him with the currents until he slumped forward unconscious.

As I tugged on the rope, the door swung open, allowing multiple guards to pour inside.

"I-intruder!! This is the Lord’s bedchamber!”

The guards, swarming in, saw me and slowly advanced, pointing their spears at me.

Time to cosplay a little for the princess. I cleared my throat and delivered my lines, albeit a bit awkwardly.

"Ah, my plan has been interrupted. What a shame. But tonight, your Lord shall become one of us. Best of luck.”

"Wh-what?!”

"I possess the power of mind control. You cannot defy your Lord’s commands, so you can’t beat us. I was holding back because of the princess’ meddling, but I decided to force the plan into motion tonight. If you understand, then respond.”

"You crazy bastard… Who are you?!”

"I’m Scarlet Abyss...Erm, um..."

I remember some Scarlet Abyss people saying their name, but I didn’t really memorize a lot of them. So I blurted out a word that came to my mind.

"Undercurrent."

-Ping!

Before I could start to cringe, the rope yanked me out at a tremendous speed.

Right before I smash into a tree, Carose caught me midair, so I didn’t add to my injuries.

I frowned, feeling the rope cinching tight around my stomach, but I forced myself to immediately mount a nearby horse.

"We’re done here. Next is Lord Horn. Elisia probably encountered him during the time she went flower viewing… Let’s go.”

"Understood. But must we really set fires?”

“Only in places where it won't spread. If we actually commit arson, the fallout will get a lot worse.”

"That’s not what I meant. Why set any fires at all?”

Seeing how puzzled Carlos was, I explained calmly.

"Because we need something we can use later.”

"Huh?"

"A Scarlet Abyss official rumored to have mind-controlling powers. If that becomes widely known, just showing up in front of them would be enough to pressure the nobles, claiming they might have been brainwashed. We can beat them up to our heart’s content using that as the excuse.”

"...Ah."

"If we’re forced into being thieves, we might as well walk away with something of value. I’d love to actually steal a few treasures while I’m in this Scarlet Abyss disguise, but we’re tight on time.”

"Jern. I have a request.”

Carose looked at me, seeming seriously concerned.

"Please don’t spend too much time talking with her Highness.”

"It’s probably already too late, but why?”

"I feel like she will pick up some bad habits.”

"..."

What preposterous slander.

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