WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

Wizard of the Abyss

[Translator – Aren]

Chapter 73 - Selection (4)

To be honest, I think everyone holds a bit of a fantasy about elves.

I wasn’t particularly fond of fantasy novels, nor did I really watch anime.

And yet the image of a noble and graceful race of nothing but tall, beautiful men and women who loved nature and acted as guardians of forbidden knowledge has been etched into my mind.

Seeing Dercia only reinforced that perception. While she was a bit eccentric, she definitely carried this mysterious aura around her I attributed to elves.

The reality was rather disappointing, however.

"This filthy wretch has twisted the will of the World Tree, deceiving us and keeping us in ignorance!”

"The only way to pay for those sins is to gut him and turn them into fertilizer!”

"Burn him! Make him into compost!”

...

We were left speechless as we watched the crowd of elves surrounding an elder elf bound to a stake and throwing rocks at him while holding torches.

I approached Cedrak, who was enthusiastically throwing rocks together with this gathering of madmen.

"Hey, what exactly are you doing right now?”

"Oh, the human visitors. That man is our chieftain and shaman. But the message from the World Tree revealed that he’s been deceiving us all along. So he must be executed.”

"Has he received a trial?”

"What’s a trial?”

One look at Cedrak’s bewildered face told me that there was no such thing as proper law in this place.

Chieftain, shaman, execution.

I quietly closed my eyes, updating all preconceived notions I had up to this point.

I should have realized when I saw their tree-worshipping shamanism.

These guys were really just tribal natives.

The Empire didn’t even treat this place as a nation but just something like an “autonomous indigenous reserve.”

Well, if they were actually dangerous, the Empire would never allow them inside its territory. Feeling my romanticized image shatter into pieces, I looked at the elderly shaman tied to a wooden pole.

"You idiotic—! Didn’t I tell you that learning magic will doom you to hell! Listen to me! Just listen!”

"Shut up, Azrael! If that was true, then why does the World Tree want to turn us into mages now?!”

"It’s not the World Tree, you idiots! It’s something else!”

"And now even blasphemy against the Sacred Tree…!”

Cedrak gritted his teeth in shock.

"This won’t do. Your filthy corpse isn’t even worthy to be used as fertilizer. We’ll just scatter your ashes to the winds! Burn him!”

"You pack of fools!”

The white-haired shaman tied to the pole shrieked, spittle flying everywhere.

"You'll kill me when we don’t even have a shamanic successor?! Have you truly lost your minds?!”

"We’ll be learning magic now, so who needs shamanism anymore?! Burn him, now!”

"Jern..."

Linmel tugged at my sleeves, her face showing worry.

Of course, I couldn’t just stand by and let this happen. If Dercia was truly using the World Tree to manipulate the elves, then this death would be her fault as well.

I couldn’t allow that. I sighed and took a step forward.

I glared at the flames touching the straw tied to the pole.

-Snap...

"Hm?”

As the flames went out, the elf tilted his head in confusion and grabbed another torch.

Before they could try again, I acted first. I forced all 36 torches in the square to flicker out at the exact same moment.

In an instant, thin plumes of smoke curled upward. The elves murmured as they glanced around.

"Wh-what’s going on?”

"Is that Azrael…using his shamanistic powers?”

"I also have no idea, you bunch of idiots.”

The elves’ stupidity was rather convenient at times like this.

Simply standing a bit further away from the crowd removed me from all suspicion.

I then snatched all the torches using my currents and crushed them into dust in mid-air.

-Crack!

"Just what…?”

Taking advantage of their confusion, I used the falling ash to create a small X over Azrael’s head.

Then the dust scattered like rain.

"...?"

Still unable to comprehend the situation, the elves just stood there until Ciel cleared her throat and spoke in a surprised voice to give them the information they needed.

"Oh my, it seems the World Tree has delivered an oracle.”

"...I see! That must be it! Release Azrael! The World Tree wishes for his survival!”

"The shaman was innocent after all! I knew it!”

"Azrael, please forgive our foolishness!”

"..."

Azrael, looking thoroughly pissed, was helped down from the stake.

The elves didn’t seem particularly apologetic. They’d much rather accept this situation than accept that what they were about to do was wrong.

These people were truly insane. Perhaps Dercia’s chaotic personality came from growing up around these ignorant elves.

I shook my head in exasperation and was about to leave when a beetle suddenly fluttered close to my ear.

"?"

I tried to shoo it away with the current, but as if sensing my intentions, someone suddenly began to speak through it after it perched on my shoulder.

[Thanks for the help. I could’ve survived even without you, but still.]

"..."

I immediately turned around.

The shama called Azrael was staring right at me, brushing against the rope marks on his body.

I tried to lock onto him with Tide Sense.

[Zrrrrr-]

[Zrrr...]

"..."

I finally realized that there were hundreds, no, thousands of beetles clinging to the surrounding structures.

If he managed to speak through them, I was sure that he could do far more. It seemed like his claim that he would have been able to survive even without my help wasn’t just a mere exaggeration.

Azrael kept watching me, speaking through the beetle.

[But gratitude aside, I must ask. If you are able to wield magic like that, I believe you’d be able to manipulate the World Tree effortlessly as well. Are you the one who incited these fools?]

I looked straight into Azrael’s eyes and traced words along his back with the current.

[No. But I can guess who is behind all this and how.]

"...!"

Azrael’s expressions hardened slightly.

That move just now both helped convey my message and showed him that I could absolutely pull something like this off.

Even if he were confident, he’d think twice before making a foolish move.

Having verified each other’s capabilities, I thought that this was going to take a bit longer, so I was the first to suggest a proper conversation.

[We won’t finish our conversation like this. Please choose a location.]

[...Come to the hut on the outskirts of the village. Don’t bring anyone else.]

[No thank you. I believe letting you choose the location has been considerate enough.]

[It’s for your sake, young Fallen.]

[They already know about that.]

[Do they also know that you’re with Scarlet Abyss?]

I frowned. What kind of nonsense was this?

[I’m not.]

[How ridiculous. Do you think a Great Realm is something created naturally?]

...This was the first time I heard this information.

He was different from the other elves. Ciel or Brimdal wouldn’t be fooled by this nonsense, but it seemed like it would be worth humoring him if it meant that he would talk.

[I’m really not, but fine. I’ll do as you say.]

[Good, I hope you come quick.]

The beetle fluttered away.

"I’ll be back in a bit. Please keep an eye on Linmel.”

"You’d better be careful.”

Brimdal spoke with a serious expression on his face.

"Elven shamans have been dangerous even in ancient times. Incomparable to human mages.”

It seemed like he overheard the words transmitted through the beetle.

"In what way?”

"Magic is fair. You get out what you put in. But shamanism is something that caused the deaths of thousands of dwarves using just a handful of ground insects, unknown blood, and strange symbols. If someone like that decides to do something, abandon the idea of watching and judging.”

"Understood. I’ll be careful.”

It seemed that shamans possessed abilities far beyond the capability of controlling bugs.

Of course, I never planned on lowering my guard anyway.

[Just how vast is this world…?]

I always keep Azrael firmly in the range of Tide Sense.

* * *

The hut Azrael mentioned wasn’t an understatement.

It really was a hut. I had confirmed it with Tide Sense, but seeing the twigs and cloth slapped together in person still left me dumbfounded.

However, what I saw inside of it was even worse. Bones, crushed flowers, strange powders, jars of snakes, and bugs everywhere.

It looked like the lair of some kind of lunatic.

Azrael kicked some stuff aside to make some space.

"Pardon the shabbiness of this place."

"That’s usually seen as a polite greeting, but this place is legitimately shabby.”

"Bah, what a rude brat. A shaman is supposed to live like this. If the room is unnecessarily large, you can’t reach what you need in an emergency.”

Azrael, wearing a grumpy expression, took a drag from his pipe and lounged around, half-reclined, before his guest.

"So, who stirred those idiots up? They may be fools, but anyone capable of meddling with the World Tree would have to know all our secrets.”

"How about we take turns asking questions? First, how did you jump to the absurd conclusion that I’m with Scarlet Abyss?”

"It’s obvious since your world is so big.”

Azrael waved his pipe in disbelief.

"Do you know how Abyss Realms are formed?”

"Yeah, I heard when a mage grows up seeing bad things, their inner world gets distorted, and that turns into an Abyss Realm."

"You only know the bare minimum. Falling means the mage’s entire world is reversed.”

"Re…versed?”

That was the first time I heard it put in such terms.

"How should I put it… Hmm…”

Azrael dragged over sticks, moss, and rocks, creating a tiny model forest.

He was surprisingly good with his hands.

"Let’s say this is a mage’s inner world.”

"Yes."

"Now, if I were to set it on fire like this, what do you think would happen?”

He struck a flint to set a leaf on fire, ultimately burning down the entire tiny forest world at a rapid pace.

The moss was damp enough to not catch fire, but everything else was about to turn into ashes.

Unsure what he wanted to hear, I shrugged.

"It will burn down?"

"Take this seriously. This is your world. Which means you. You must survive, so figure out how to put the fire out.”

"Hmm… You’d want to create water?”

"Water? And how would you create that? The fire here is just a metaphor. A trauma capable of shaking your entire world. How would you introduce the complete opposite force? It’s nearly impossible.”

"I have no idea. What can you use then?”

"Only what the world already has.”

I stared at the tiny forest. All that remained now were tiny flickering flames.

"There’s nothing left but fire.”

"Exactly."

Azrael calmly watched the burning forest, then tossed in more firewood.

"The world reverses. If all you’ve known is pain from fire, then you become a world made entirely of fire to survive.”

The forest was no longer a forest but a small bonfire.

He set a pot over it, letting water boil in it as if it were natural, and continued.

"A world of trees becomes a furnace to endure the flames. That reversal is what creates a Fallen.”

"Nice metaphor. But how does that explain why you think I can’t create a Great World on my own?”

"...So you really aren’t with Scarlet Abyss. You don’t know anything.”

Carelessly dumping tea leaves into the pot, Azrael looked at me with bewilderment.

"No matter how much you reverse a world naturally, it won’t produce a Great World. Look, this reversed world can barely boil some tea. A Great World can’t be created without some artificial intervention. Your world has to be tortured, pushing you into the absolute worst situation possible and then reversed.”

"Aha…”

I nodded briefly, knitting my brows.

"So that means the executives of Scarlet Abyss—”

"Exactly. Every last one of them was created by them. So if it wasn’t Scarlet Abyss, who created you?”

It was my turn to answer.

"Are you sure you want to lead with that question?”

"...Cheeky brat. Just tell me who’s behind the World Tree.”

"Do you know Dercia Aspandil?”

"Dercia? Wait, why her?”

So he did know her.

"She’s my master.”

Azrael blinked, his jaw dropped.

"What? She took a Fallen as her disciple??”

"Yeah, it’s a long story, but that’s how it turned out.”

"I get it, but what does that have to do with her impersonating the World Tree and deceiving these fools? What is she trying to gain from turning elves into mages?”

"It’s probably…for my sake. I’m not entirely sure though.”

"Wahaha, what’s with that?”

Azrael pounded the floor, laughing in disbelief.

"Just what are you talking about? Turning elves into mages for your sake, then what…?”

Azrael, who had been laughing, saw my perfectly serious expression and froze, the corners of his mouth falling.

"No way."

"My guess—is that she is trying to make them all fall and then extract the information I need from them, but I’m not entirely sure—"

"That insane woman!”

He sprang up, pulling at his hair, and screamed.

"Is she out of her mind?! Trading the future of our entire race just for a single disciple?? I knew she was mad—but this mad?”

"I said it’s not confirmed. It's more likely that this isn’t the case."

"Whether it’s for you or because she just wants to create more test subjects, it’s still clear that her goal is to make them fall, right? She’s truly insane. We can’t just sit around and let this happen!”

"Please calm down. We don’t want this to happen either.”

I quietly lifted up some tea using my current and poured it into Azrael’s cup.

Seeing that, he deflated and picked up the cup.

"...How old are you?”

"About 11. I’m an orphan, so I don’t know exactly.”

"11? Hah, you’re far too composed for your age. And your ability to handle your world is extraordinary. No wonder you caught her eye…”

He took a sip and then glared at me with disapproval.

"If only you hadn’t caught Dercia’s eye, then none of this would have happened."

"That’s a rather unfair statement. If you’re going to point fingers, maybe start with the elves who worship the World Tree as a deity. Any normal society would consider a talking tree a monster and cut it down, not some miraculous being sending oracles.”

"Well, I couldn’t really help that.”

I raised my cup to take a sip as well when I noticed something strange.

It wasn’t because I detected any poison in it. I had only pretended to drink it and then put the cup back down.

What struck me was Azrael’s wording.

"You couldn’t help it? Are you saying that you made them this way?”

"How old do you think I am? Those fools living their whole lives perched in trees, hating humans, worshipping some stupid trees. This is all my fault.”

"..."

So he was the reason my hopes and dreams had been crushed.

Shouldn't he be killed? Not because he crushed my romantic ideals, but because he was clearly a villain straight out of a fairy tale.

Azrael, who had noticed my frosty stare, only snorted.

"Don’t criticize what you don’t understand. Elves are meant to live this way.”

"Do you realize just how arrogant it is for one man to choose the fate of an entire race?”

"I know. It’s arrogant. Stupid. Dogmatic. Behavior worse than any dictators—sure, sure.”

...That light acceptance and self-awareness threw me off, leaving me speechless.

Taking advantage of that gap, Azrael started to defend himself.

"But you have to acknowledge that the values of elves and humans differ. Your death and our death don’t weigh the same.”

"What nonsense. The life of any intelligent being is worth the same.”

"You misunderstand. I’m not claiming that elves are superior. If anything, we are worse off.”

He lifted his hand. I noticed only then that there was a finger missing.

"I lost it thousands of years ago. A human without a hand might suffer for maybe ninety years, but we’d suffer for thousands.

"Then get a prosthetic.”

"It’s just a metaphor, you brat. When we’re wounded, sick, or exposed to hatred—We endure that pain for centuries. The price for a single mistake is simply too enormous.”

"..."

"But we can cooperate. If Dercia’s behind the World Tree, I can guess where she is and how she’s doing it.”

Azrael extended his old, wrinkled hand, missing a finger, towards me. I looked at it disapprovingly.

"So? Will you help? I’ll even throw in a bit of a bonus, using my wisdom.”

"Let’s be honest. You just can’t handle my Master alone, right?”

"...That’s why I offered a bonus, right?”

I stared at his bony hand with even more distaste.

It was obvious why Azrael was acting like this. He couldn’t be sure he'd survive a confrontation with Dercia.

We, too, desperately needed someone who knew where she was in this strange land of elves.

And an elf who had lived this long was more than capable of doing exactly that.

We needed each other. And I was curious about that bonus he mentioned.

"Fine, let’s do that.”

"Good."

After a transactional handshake, Azrael immediately started to pat me down.

I felt incredibly uncomfortable.

"What are you doing?”

"Hmm..."

He nodded to himself before saying something rather strange.

"Do you have two souls?”

"...What?"

"I’ve been sensing it for a while. Now I confirmed it. So can you tell me why you carry two worlds inside of you?”

I looked at Azrael, who looked at me with suspicion. I tried to collect my thoughts.

It seemed like he wasn’t just some charlatan.

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