WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

Wizard of the Abyss

[Translator – Aren]

Chapter 76 - Selection (7)

That tone. It was unmistakably Azrael.

He staggered closer, frowning at the roots binding me.

"Tsk, tsk. She’s really modified everything. This’ll be a pain.”

[Can you do this to every elf?]

I scribbled words on his back using the currents. Were all elves actually just Azrael, like different fragments of his personality?

Azrael smirked, half-agreeing.

"Then why do you think those idiots tried to burn me earlier? It’s just that if I implant eggs into their brains, I can borrow their bodies like this. Well…but I guess I did do this to most of them."

[You’re truly mad.]

"The real lunatic just walked out of here. Liquified worlds? Well, I did hear she was quite a big deal in the human world… but that’s practically brushing against the Heavenly Realm. Ugh…!”

He pulled at the roots, restraining me with all his might. The body of the possessed—or rather taken over—elf looked quite sturdy, but the roots didn’t even budge.

"Ugh, so annoying.”

[...How about using something more shamanistic?]

"Don’t confuse sorcery with magic, brat. Without ingredients or preparation, I couldn’t even lift a single leaf.”

I held back the insults that entered my mind.

Honestly, that scene was already enough to prove how monstrously versatile sorcery could be.

Just by planting some sort of egg in someone, he could remotely take over someone else’s body.

Even if one knew it was possible, choosing to do it was on yet another completely different level.

Did this shaman feel no guilt or something?

"What’s that look for? You saw them trying to burn me alive, right? Those idiots. I can’t just leave them without some sort of safety measure.”

[No, I’m just incredibly impressed. You really do anything just to preserve your species. If there really was a World Tree, it would probably be you.]

"Tsk, don’t get sarcastic with me."

After trying a few more times, Azrael sighed and shook his head.

"This won’t work. I’ll switch out.”

"...?"

Just when I wondered what he meant by that, Azrael’s demeanor completely shifted.

He blinked, then stared at me, eyes widened in surprise.

"Lord– Jern?”

[Azrael?]

"I’m Ciel. So that’s how it feels. He did explain, but still…”

No way.

He could make others possess these bodies as well?

Shamans were true monsters. As I watched on in awe, Ciel, who had been touching the roots for some time, started to stretch.

"The situation is critical. Lord Brimdal is attempting various methods to rescue you, but since the Lady is serious this time, the outcome can’t be easily predicted. We need to escape to consider our next steps.”

[Yeah. I tried talking to her. It seems she’s not in her right mind right now.]

"---No. That’s not quite it.”

Ciel shook her head, her expression clouded with worry.

"I was mistaken. Forget everything I told you before we came here.”

[What do you mean?]

"Lady Cia is perfectly sane. Painfully so.”

[?]

What was that supposed to mean?

Dercia was definitely acting differently than usual. She was clearly a bit more unhinged than usual. No, actually, quite a lot more.

While I was still frozen in disbelief, Ciel clenched her fists.

"That won’t do. She needs to be just a bit less sane… Huph!”

-Booom!

Her fist slammed right into the roots.

That didn’t sound like a punch and more like a bomb just exploded close to me. I could even see a faint plume of smoke coming up from the impact point.

"Tsk."

Scowling at the still-intact root, Ciel struck it again and again.

-Boom! Pow!

Her kicks and punches easily broke the sound barrier.

That elf’s body seemed far from that of a peak martial artist’s, though. Wait, she shouldn’t have been able to do these things even in her own body… The destructive force she was displaying was terrifying enough to give me goosebumps.

I shouldn’t tease Ciel ever again. Remembering her smiling face, I swallowed hard. She exhaled, her hands dripping with blood.

"...My apologies. It seems I’m unable to free you in this body.”

[It’s alright. You’re stronger than I thought.]

"Ahem, I simply did a lot of physical work when I was younger.”

Ciel cleared her throat as if embarrassed, then grew serious once more, offering me some advice.

"In any case, the Lady normally restrains her thought processes and condition severely.”

[What do you mean?]

"She always has those dark circles under her eyes, has this passive-aggressive way of speaking, and has that eerie atmosphere around her, right?”

Ciel began to badmouth Dercia as if it was nothing.

[Well, I guess so.]

"She acts this way because she always tries to keep her mind slightly off."

[...Why though?]

"Because the sane version of her is far more dangerous than when she’s slightly off.”

Ciel glared at the root barrier, her brows knitted.

"I misunderstood. I thought running away like this would worsen her condition—pushing her further into insanity… Hmpf!”

Pow—!

He had struck the root with a hand chop this time.

It actually left a small dent in it. She sighed, then shook her head.

"It was the exact opposite. For some unknown reason, the Lady has chosen to regain her sanity. That has never once happened before.”

[Wait, why would that be dangerous?]

"The fact that you’re stuck here means you already talked to her. What method did she tell you?”

[An absolutely crazy one.]

That much I could say for certain. When she heard my words, Ciel calmly asked again.

“And did you think that crazy method sounded like it would work?”

[...]

I started to write something but then stopped.

If I were to strip away ethics and morality, things necessary to be human. Dercia’s method was similar to the path Scarlet Abyss had chosen.

She created worlds. If she could perform miracles like that, then it would be even easier for her to force a fall.

Regardless of my personal like or dislike.

[...She’s already close to succeeding.]

So that was it.

I finally understood what Ciel meant.

Dercia knew that when she was in her right mind, she would choose to do things that should never be done.

That was why she chose to live in a slightly off state.

But after hearing what she had said earlier, she must have realized something and chose to return to her senses again. That was what this was.

Those Scarlet Abyss bastards were absolutely useless. I gritted my teeth when Ciel lifted her head suddenly.

"Ah."

[What’s wrong?]

"The Lady just started throwing a tantrum. This area will become incredibly dangerous soon. I’ll have to draw her attention.”

Trying to ignore how she worded that, I asked what I was most concerned about.

[Excuse me, is Linmel okay?]

"Aside from the extreme murderous intent she is developing toward the Lady, she’s completely fine. She’s fighting quite well, too. But I think I’m about to be needed.”

[...What do you mean? Who’s she fighting against?]

"Don’t worry too much. Even in her fully sane state, the Lady wouldn’t want to kill us. Worst case, we all survive, and you, Jern, will improve one way or another. Because that is what she wishes for. What do you think about that?"

[I don’t want to live that kind of life.]

"Noted. Fortunately, Lord Azrael said that he has a solution. So let’s keep struggling with all our might to abandon the bright, happy future we might have had.”

Ciel paused for a moment, then added,

"-Well, I already know what you’ll say, but…do you hate the Lady for doing this?”

[No. How could I? Without her, I probably would have been kidnapped by Scarlet Abyss by now.]

I owed Dercia far too much.

So much so that I would never be able to repay her, so she wasn’t someone I could ever choose to hate.

[However, that’s separate from making her understand when she’s doing something awful.]

Ciel’s eyes widened in clear surprise at those words.

After a moment of silence, she replied in a much softer tone.

"...Perhaps meeting you was an even better thing for Lady Cia than it was for you.”

[Huh?]

"Please take good care of her.”

She smiled gently, then closed her eyes.

When that body’s eyes opened again, hmm, I could sense a far worse attitude from it, even though it was the exact same face.

I frowned, feeling slightly annoyed, and wrote,

[I’m starting to realize just how important a proper upbringing actually is.]

"...Why the hell are you bringing that up now?”

[My Master claims she’s completely sane.]

"So?"

[Doesn’t her method feel slightly familiar to you?]

The way a completely sane Dercia was handling me—

Was exactly like Azrael’s way of handling the elves.

Everything from their thought process to their behavior.

But Azrael frowned and denied it.

"What…? So you think I’m her parent or something? She just looked smart, so I tried raising her as a shaman.”

[You made a mistake then.]

"Yeah. The moment she learned about magic, she decided that the shamanism she had learned from me for her entire life up to this point was obsolete crap, threw it all away, and went insane.”

[What do you mean by that?]

"I don’t know. Whether it happened while she was learning magic or after she gained some sort of enlightenment, that brat became a fanatic worshiper of truth. She decided that all truths had to be recorded and that elves were given such long lives because it was their duty to act as living books. A shame, really.”

He clicked his tongue, expressing his genuine regret.

In any case, Dercia’s warped way of thinking must have been ingrained in her while learning under Azrael.

He would technically be my Grandmaster, but I had no intention or desire to treat this lunatic as one.

[So, how do I get out?]

Setting that aside, I still needed his help.

I had to escape first before I could ask for help. I didn’t know what this shaman who couldn’t use his sorcery right now had in mind.

He stared at his blood-soaked fists with quite some disdain, then shrugged.

"As I said before, the methods I can use are extremely limited. I can’t even lift a single leaf if I were to rely on physical force alone."

[Then call Linmel over. She might be more helpful.]

"But look. Let me show you just how awe-inspiring shamanism truly is."

Azrael dipped a finger in the blood and began drawing something on my forehead.

"Now that things have come to this, you can’t refuse anymore.”

I sighed when I saw that creepy smile on his face.

... It seemed like this shaman was dead set on expanding my small world somehow.

Thinking for a moment, I realized that I didn’t really have any other option.

[My safety must be guaranteed.]

"Listen well, if you die here, do you have any clue how furious Dercia would be? She’d skin me alive and wipe out the whole elven race. I absolutely don’t want that to happen. I can’t afford to let you get even slightly damaged.”

[You’re exaggerating. No matter what, Master wouldn’t exterminate her own people just because of my death.]

"You’re seriously underestimating that girl’s pride.”

Azreal looked at me with a disappointed expression.

...Even so, our original contract was that she would get to see my very last struggle in exchange for helping me the best she could until then.

Somehow her mindset had changed a bit now, trying to keep me alive at all cost, probably because she was out of her mind—no, maybe because she was fully sane. A few sleepless nights and she would go right back to normal.

Still, he wasn’t wrong. If I died here, it was pretty unlikely that Azrael would survive.

[And if this world expansion thing or whatever works, I can definitely escape, right?]

"We’ll know once we try. We don’t really have the luxury to be picky about our options here.”

That was also true.

It was hard for me to imagine that Dercia, who had created this space, would lose against Brimdal.

I knew how strong he was, but Dercia’s transcendent powers weren’t something one could just describe as strong.

Ciel, Linmel, and even Azrael. All they would be able to manage is to buy some time against her.

To change the situation, I would have to take action—by any means necessary.

[...Understood. Let’s do this.]

I glared at him before finally closing my eyes.

Azrael finished drawing that strange pattern on my forehead with blood, then nodded in satisfaction.

"Hmm, good. Now try dying."

[What do you mean, “try dying”?]

"I mean that you should accept it.”

Azreal’s fingers bent strangely.

"Stop trying to escape and grasp your enlightenment. Shatter the shell of being an Abyssal creature and awaken as a human wizard.”

[...]

That sure wasn’t reassuring.

I quietly steadied my mind.

"All enlightenment begins with a question about oneself. Hurry up.”

[Please be quiet.]

I brought back the truth, the question, that I had deliberately ignored.

...Why did fire not extinguish here?

Why did the pressure crush only my skin even if I was wearing a dive suit?

Why did entering a separate space not free me of the burdens? Why—

Why?

Why couldn’t I escape my world?

"...Oooh."

Fwoosh.

Sparks appeared before my eyes. I stared at them intently and repeated that truth of why it wouldn’t go out.

It should be impossible.

If I really were in the Abyssal Sea, how could I possibly ignite fire in it?

There couldn’t be any flames beneath the sea.

...But I was under a completely wrong impression to begin with.

I wasn’t inside the sea, but inside the Abyssal Sea.

I existed inside the very truth of the Abyssal Sea.

"Hak, ugh—!"

Suddenly, the elf Azrael possessed began to shrink grotesquely.

Was that his way of sharing my burden? I tried to stop thinking, but Azrael shook his head.

"I’m fine, so just do what you need to."

"..."

Looking at the actions of Scarlet Abyss, the extremists who were seeking to recreate someone like me, I started to understand.

They drowned humans in seawater.

What could a drowning human comprehend?

The pain of suffocation, the coldness of water, the helplessness of sinking no matter how desperately they struggle, and the resistance of water that made any movement laborious.

A lot of people might say that the sea is actually beautiful.

Colorful reefs and fish, a sunlit emerald paradise. These were also part of the sea.

But even if it is, in the process of drowning, one would see nothing.

Such scenery did not exist in the world of the Fallen.

For a dying world to survive, it would embrace every pain, hatred, and fear around it, turning itself into a reversed hell.

—That would become the entirety of the sea it knows.

"I didn’t think it would be this intense…”

Watching Azrael shrink further, I forced my thoughts to accelerate.

My Abyssal Sea was the same.

To form what it means to be in the Abyssal Sea, well, yeah.

There might be a little beauty in it, somewhere. There probably were some people who actually liked deep-sea fish, after all.

But all of this existed solely for the purpose of torturing me.

Perhaps this place could be used to snuff out fire like water did. Just like how I hadn’t been able to use fire magic for a while or how I extinguished Lumia’s flames.

But unless I consciously thought about it, those details were nothing more than background elements.

I wasn’t in the real Abyssal Sea. That was why, no matter what I did, I couldn’t escape the pressure, the currents, and the deep-sea creatures.

There was no escape. It wasn’t that these burdens came from being inside the Abyssal Sea.

—The burdens were the only things that existed here.

"...Ah."

I had reached the end.

It felt like I had finally managed to scratch an itch I had had for a long time.

My head cleared, and a kind of blissful heat spread through my body.

"...!"

However, it wasn’t all pleasant.

My eyes suddenly felt like someone had poured boiling water into them. At the same time, my body turned cold as if I was turning into ice.

Just when I thought that the burdens were getting heavier—

The pain receded, and my body started to feel light enough to fly. I was still bound by those roots, but I felt like I could tear them apart without breaking a sweat.

Not long after, warmth spread through me, and my vision became sharp and clear.

I felt dumbfounded, yet had to accept this situation.

This was the first time.

The first time I had ever felt my burdens actually decreasing.

"Ugh, good grief, just what kind of environment have you been living in… No, I only tasted maybe one percent of it, and yet got almost crushed to death.”

Azreal, his whole body flushed red, rumbled as he met my eyes.

Then the corners of his mouth curled up.

"Hmm. Looks like it worked.”

[...You can tell?]

I couldn’t really.

I felt good because I finally understood something, and my burdens diminished, but I didn’t really feel like anything about me had changed.

"See for yourself.”

Azreal picked up one of the bowls holding a world and raised it beneath my face.

What did he want me to see? I stared at my reflection in the liquid’s surface and—

"...Ah."

Saw a second star swimming in my eyes.

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