Wizard of the Abyss - Chapter 95

WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

Wizard of the Abyss

[Translator – Aren]

Chapter 95 - Three Calamities (2)

"Spreading burdens…across the whole world.”

Dercia, seeming interested in that phrase, turned the page with a serious expression

"Hmm."

"Did something come to mind?”

"It did, but for now, it’s nothing more than speculation, so I’m hesitant to tell you.”

At that moment, Ciel, who had been quietly listening from behind us, interjected.

"Lady Cia. Even if it’s just speculation, please explain your thoughts properly.”

"...What?"

Dercia raised an eyebrow, but Ciel, not losing her momentum, continued.

"You do this all the time. You brush things off with ‘You wouldn’t understand even if I explained it,’ and then just act on your own anyway. This isn't the first or second time. Last time too, you jumped straight into action without even thinking about explaining anything.”

"..."

"Even a rough explanation is fine. I believe Sir Jern would feel more at ease if you shared what you just noticed.”

Dercia, unable to refute any of Ciel’s statements, sighed and replied.

"It really isn’t anything worth mentioning. During the last battle, the one called Decay once said something along the lines of the real world itself being someone’s inner world.”

"What does that even mean?”

"It’s nonsense. Not worth a single thought. If the real world were someone else’s inner world, then what would that inner world be made of? In the end, an inner world is composed of the real world itself. It’s nothing more than a chicken-or-egg paradox.”

She dismissed it bluntly.

"That said, I just thought that they were only able to come up with such an absurd plan because they were a group of lunatics capable of entertaining such thoughts. That’s all.”

"But coming up with a plan and actually executing it are two different things, right?””

"That is true. Even now, I don’t fully understand what they mean by this. Spreading burdens across the world…that would imply overlaying an individual’s Realm onto the entire present world…”

Dercia narrowed her eyes.

"No matter how I think about it, I can only come to the conclusion that it’s impossible. Still, I also can’t bring myself to believe that Scarlet Abyss consists of only fools chasing illusions.”

"So they must have some kind of method.”

"Jern. There’s something I’d like to ask you. It’s purely out of my own curiosity.”

"What is it?”

She blinked, seeming genuinely curious.

"Let’s assume their plan succeeds, and your Abyssal Sea is now spread across the entire world.”

"..."

"I’ve seen your illustrations of those deep-sea creatures in these books, and I understand that they’re dangerous, but I have never heard exactly how powerful they are. What kind of outcome do you think it will have?”

I answered without hesitation.

"It would absolutely fail. This burden can’t possibly create a Fallen.”

"Hmm, so does that mean they are easy to handle? Does it mean they aren’t that strong individually speaking?”

"On the contrary.”

"...Pardon?"

"They’re far too strong. So strong they couldn’t even be described as mere burdens. If those things were unleashed on the real world, that would mark the beginning of the Empire’s inevitable downfall.”

If the deep-sea creatures were released…

And if humans other than me became their target—

From that moment on, there wouldn’t be a single safe place left in this world.

Those things were capable of using Tide Sense. No matter where someone hid, they would be able to find and kill them with ease. Taking their speed into consideration, it would probably…

"It would take about 3 hours for half the population to be wiped out.”

"Hmm, I see…”

Dercia, a weary look in her eyes, lifted the back end of her fountain pen and let ink drip onto the page.

"If that’s the case, then we don’t have time. There’s much more I’d like to ask since that thing is a Scarlet Abyss executive, but for now, I’ll erase it.”

"Erase?”

"If the Lump is fully digested like this, it will die. And then it will return to Scarlet Abyss carrying information about you, Jern. If that happens, it’s painfully obvious what Scarlet Abyss will do next.”

"...Can’t we just imprison it forever—”

"We could, but that would make us Scarlet Abyss’ target as well. It’s best to avoid unnecessary trouble. So—I’ll just erase the Lump’s memories.”

"?"

Dercia spoke as casually as if she was telling me her dinner plans.

"What’s recorded by me can be erased, altered, or supplemented at will. However, since I haven’t fully reached the Heavenly Realm yet, my control isn’t perfect. I can’t alter too much. I’m still far from the stage of complete revision. Still…maybe I can add this much…”

As I watched her muttering to herself and editing the book, something suddenly occurred to me.

"Did you develop that spell recently by any chance?”

"? Yes. That’s right.”

"...You didn’t make it to use on me back in the elven forest, did you?”

"In any case, we gained something significant here. We now know Scarlet Abyss’ purpose for creating the Three Calamities and what they intend to do with them.”

Dercia abruptly changed the subject.

"You didn’t, right?”

"What we don’t know is what we should do next. That is, how to make one capable of resisting the creatures residing in the Realms of the Three Calamities, specifically, your deep-sea creatures.”

"..."

"It seems like even the Lump didn’t know… Which means that the Scarlet Abyss executive it spoke with does know how to control them.”

"Ah, yes.”

I stood up from beside Dercia and sat next to Ciel.

She naturally reached out and stroked my hair, nodding.

"If Sir Jern wishes to survive, contact with Scarlet Abyss is inevitable.”

"...That’s the conclusion we’re left with. In the end, we need their knowledge.”

Dercia sighed and closed the book.

Black ink began to bubble out from the closed pages, spilling onto the desk like blood.

"It’s finished. The Lump is dead, but all it should be aware of right now is that the Empire noticed something amiss and sent Dercia. In the process, the Lump fell into a trap and died instantly.”

"That’s really impressive…"

"I put quite a bit of effort into it.”

"I can tell.”

Perhaps feeling kind of self-conscious despite no one accusing her of anything, Dercia stood and opened the door.

"Ahem. Ciel and I will return first. You still carry the title of Imperial Envoy, so handle things appropriately tomorrow before coming back. And…”

She glanced at the bed where Rahyan lay sleeping, then added,

"You truly won’t tell your father the truth?”

"Yes."

I nodded.

Rahyan wasn’t Rahyan.

But that didn’t mean that I was Rahyan either.

So why deliberately poke at it and create trouble?

"If we leave this doll as is. Scarlet Abyss may still have room to interfere. In the end, it would just be a pointless illusion. I still believe revealing the truth and clearing up everything would be the best course of action.”

"Well, I can’t deny that.”

After all, he was an artificial lifeform created by Scarlet Abyss. There was no telling what kind of side effects leaving him be might have.

Still, I never considered killing him an option.

The moment she let the word ‘kill’ fall, the outcome had already been decided.

"However, I don’t think Scarlet Abyss’ goal was to wipe out the kingdom using these dolls. As we saw in the book, their main goal was to create a sustainable hideout. Up until now, they have maintained the status quo without causing any real trouble, so even if they return, I doubt much will change. And…”

I glanced at the sleeping Rahyan and let out a small chuckle.

"If he were truly under their control, he wouldn’t have helped us capture the Lump. We were able to resolve this incident so quickly because of him. Rather than a puppet, I’d like to think of him as a separate human being they happened to create.”

"...You really haven’t changed.”

Dercia looked at me with a complicated expression.

It seemed like she was displaying a mix of several emotions, but taken as a whole, it didn’t seem negative, at least.

"When you return, let’s talk more about Scarlet Abyss. And did you feel your burdens deepen during this battle?”

I lightly swung my arm.

The current felt a bit heavier than before, but it was still manageable.

"A little. But thanks to the Water Partition, it’s not too bad.”

"That will require further research… But fine. We’ll depart tomorrow and will meet up again at night.”

"Yes. Understood.”

After Dercia and Ciel left, only Rahyan and I remained in the room.

I tucked the mask into my coat, prepared myself, and tried to bring my thoughts in order.

The deep-sea creatures weren’t created separately after I woke up in the Abyssal Sea—they were a defining trait of the Three Calamities’ inner world.

I now understood why the deep-sea creatures existed, but the overall situation remained shrouded in mystery.

In the end, what mattered wasn’t the reason, but rather finding even a fragment of how to control those things.

If it truly was a characteristic of the Realm, meddling with it would be far more difficult.

"Hmm…”

Thinking about it again, there was one thing that didn’t quite add up.

If all of that were true—

"...Then what exactly happened to me?”

Scarlet Abyss didn’t torture me.

But Great Realms couldn’t form unless they were deliberately created.

And yet I somehow ended up with a Great Realm. One of the Three Calamities. And the Abyssal Sea at that. An impossible worst-case scenario stacked upon another.

Was this really just a coincidence?

I couldn’t afford to dwell too much on that right now since dealing with the deep-sea creatures was my top priority right now, but it certainly was strange.

'I don’t know.'

I thought about it for a while longer but came to no conclusion.

With no other choice left, I gently woke Rahyan first.

"Rahyan, it’s all over. Wake up.”

"U-uhmm…”

Part of me wanted to just pick him up and go, but when I checked using Tide Sense, there were still plenty of guards outside even at this early hour.

The tension was palpable on their faces. Even though they’d been ordered by Jahyan to keep this a secret, they’d clearly heard that one of their comrades had died.

If I carried the prince on my back at a time like this…well.

All I could say was that things wouldn’t end well. It would be better for the two of us if Rahyan just woke up and we walked side by side.

Rahyan rubbed his eyes and looked up at me, blinking as if he wasn’t fully awake yet.

"Brother Horen…?”

"Yeah. It’s all over. Scarlet Abyss has been completely driven off.”

"R-really?? Phew, thank goodness…”

Rahyan let out a sigh of relief, then blushed slightly, seeming embarrassed.

"I’m sorry. I should have stayed awake as the prince of this kingdom, considering what happened, but I suddenly got so tired…”

"It’s fine. We caught the guy because you told us who it was. You did more than enough. You can be proud of yourself.”

"Really? I couldn’t ask for anything more then. I’ve been having a really hard time ever since I was little because all these things just suddenly happened to me and no one listened…”

I examined Rahyan carefully as he spoke with a bright expression on his face.

...No matter how I looked at him, he seemed like a completely normal human. He could use magic as well.

It at least seemed like creating something like him was extremely difficult. If mass production were possible, those damn lunatics might’ve just turned their dolls into Fallen.

Perhaps that was their goal from the start.

I shook my head, clearing away those stray thoughts, and lightly patted his shoulder.

"Let’s head back to your room for now. Get some good rest today.”

"Okay… Ah, right. Brother. Come to think of it, I got a new ability!”

"What? What kind of ability?”

I tilted my head at that sudden announcement.

Rahyan began to explain, his eyes sparkling.

"Today at the banquet, I met more people than I ever have in my whole life, so I really pushed myself, right?”

"Yeah. You did.”

"I think that’s why. Around this evening, I finally figured out what my ability is.”

"Really?”

That piqued my interest.

Things had been urgent, so I just put any thoughts regarding his ability aside, but I’d been genuinely curious about how Rahyan was able to see other people’s worlds.

As I listened closely to him, Rahyan proudly raised his hand.

"Look at this!”

"At what?”

"Look a little closer!”

"?"

At first, I couldn’t really see anything.

But when I focused harder—There was an extremely thin, translucent film wrapped around his skin.

"What…is that?”

"I tested it out, and it turns out I have this kind of ability!”

Rahyan detached the candle from a nearby lantern and gently brought the flame closer to his palm.

"Ah, hot, ouch…”

... And then he yanked his hand back in surprise.

I thought it was some sort of protective ability, but it seemed like it wasn’t. I frowned and grabbed a jug of cold water.

"What if it leaves a scar? Give me your hand.”

"No! This is where it starts!”

Rahyan steeled himself and once again brought his palm over the candle flame.

I tried to stop him—but his expression looked completely different this time.

There wasn’t even a trace of pain on his features.

"It doesn’t hurt at all!”

"...What?"

"This is my magic. I don’t feel pain I’ve already experienced!”

"...!"

"And look at this.”

Rahyan raised the palm that had touched the candle.

The shimmering film was on fire. More precisely, flames were burning on top of it.

Even though the only thing sustaining it should have been Rahyan’s hand, it was perfectly fine.

The fire continued to burn for quite a while—until Rahyan finally blew it out.

Even after it seemed to be completely extinguished, the flame flared back up, refusing to stop. In the end it was only after I poured water on it that his hand returned to normal.

"That’s how it is. I think it’s..."

"Adaptation.”

"Um, yeah. That’s what I think.”

"..."

I knew this ability.

The Water Partition. The small world that protected me from the Abyssal Sea.

I continued slowly.

"The reason…you could see the world of other Fallen.”

"...Brother?"

"Because you’d been in contact with a Fallen since you were young, so your inner world decided that it needed to adapt to that world.”

My Water Partition wrapped around me to keep me alive, acting as a tiny diving suit to protect me from the Abyssal Sea. Even now, it was still fighting desperately to keep me alive.

Rahyan had been exposed to the danger, the Fallen.

So his Water Partition, shaped through constant contact with the Lump since early childhood, had learned to protect its master in this way. To warn him the moment a Fallen got close to him. It would somehow manage to sense it and recreate their world.

It wasn’t that the Water Partition possessed some sort of intelligence. It was simply something that constantly adapted to ensure survival.

If I hadn’t spent all day submerged in the Abyssal Sea, my own Water Partition might have acted in a similar way.

"A-are you okay? Why did your face suddenly go pale? Are you hurt somewhere?”

Rahyan seemed quite concerned about me, who was just standing there blankly.

I forced a smile and nodded.

"...It’s nothing. I was just thinking about something for a moment. Shall we head back?”

"Ah, yeah!”

Right.

It really was nothing.

A doll could use the magic of its original. That was all this was.

There was nothing strange about that. If they could perfectly reproduce its humanity, then it wouldn’t be strange at all for it to possess a similar world.

There was just one problem.

That is, if my inner world and the inner world of Rahyan were both this Water Partition…

...Then whose world was the Abyssal Sea?

Where did it come from?

"This isn’t the time to blame others…”

I muttered to myself, low enough so that Rahyan couldn’t hear, followed by a quiet sigh.

Scarlet Abyss didn’t torture me?

Right. No one in this world ever tortured me.

Did I awaken to a Great Realm for no reason?

No.

The me from the Republic of Korea.

...That was who the Fallen was.