Wizard of the Abyss - Chapter 96

WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

Wizard of the Abyss

[Translator – Aren]

Chapter 96 - Three Calamities (3)

Someone once said that mental pain surpassed physical pain.

That the pain of being abandoned by someone you love is more agonizing than being burned alive.

Whenever I heard things like that, all I could think of was, ‘Has this person ever suffered fourth-degree burns over their entire body?’

Probably not. They might have been abandoned by someone they loved, though.

I did agree that mental pain was real pain. I wasn’t trying to argue some hardline nonsense about depression not being real.

But—it’s in a different category from tangible physical agony.

That was the conclusion I had come to. If mental pain was more effective in creating a Great Realm than physical torment, then why would Scarlet Abyss drown people in seawater or burn them alive?

If the Abyssal Sea is my world, then that would mean I somehow suffered through torture on that level or even harsher in my previous life.

Suffocation. My entire body being crushed. Monsters constantly lurking, waiting for the perfect moment to devour my flesh.

Naturally—

'...I’ve never experienced anything like that.'

I didn’t think I had lived a particularly painful life.

To be honest, my life was actually pretty far removed from suffering.

The worst thing anyone ever did to me was throwing a potato out the window that happened to hit me while I was walking down the street. I think I got a small bruise from that.

Of course, mental pain is pain as well. The decisive trigger that made Ren fall was due to her parents abandoning her.

But again, being abandoned by my parents… or similar traumatic experiences?

Yeah, I never experienced anything like that either.

Was Korea’s competitive society really that painful?

No way. This world is far more horrifying.

No matter how many times I thought about it, I’d always hit a dead end. I kept combing through the memories of my past life, looking for some sort of cause, and eventually decided to just shove this whole issue aside.

It was something I needed to address at some point. But if a forest fire breaks out, you should first focus on putting it out. You don’t start by figuring out which cigarette butt caused it.

"You seem troubled."

"...Yes."

After the incident was resolved, as we rode our horses out of the kingdom, Carose approached me and spoke up.

I owed her a lot. She’d even demanded bribes at the cost of lowering her own reputation.

In the end, due to my identity as an imperial envoy, I was inevitably exposed, but it is safe to say that she had carried out Sharmia’s orders faithfully.

So even though her intent to fish for information was quite obvious, I answered her anyway.

"One problem gets solved, and another immediately takes its place. Nothing in the world is ever easy.”

"I see."

Her eyes were clearly asking for an explanation.

I would end up telling Carose sooner or later anyway, so there was no need to hide anything.

"We captured one of Scarlet Abyss’ executives and extracted a bit of information.”

"...!"

Carose gripped the reins tightly, making it quite obvious how shocked she was.

The horse she was riding looked quite uncomfortable. I cleared my throat and continued my explanation.

"It’s nothing all that impressive. We just learned a bit about their objective.”

"... That sounds like something rather impressive to me, though. What is it?”

"It’s exactly what you already know. They want to create more Fallen. Their method is just a bit unusual. They plan to thinly spread burdens across the entire world, forcing all mages to constantly live in suffering, and in doing so secure more Fallen. Something like that.”

"Is that actually possible??”

"My master said it’s impossible. Still, there must be some way, I guess. The best-case scenario is that they’ve all just lost their minds…”

I trailed off.

Scarlet Abyss was the kind of organization that executed irrational actions based on very rational plans.

After breaking through the princess’ protection and carrying out indiscriminate terror across the Empire to make their name known, they chose to stay hidden and quietly expand after their goal had been achieved.

By now, several major organizations in the underworld were probably already kissing Scarlet Abyss’ feet. They might be insane, but whoever was handling them wasn’t. Or rather, they were insane in a more refined way, at least.

"I think we’ve come too far to hope for an optimistic outcome.”

"I agree."

Carose fell into serious thought.

"Jern. If…a layer of burdens were to cover the entire world….”

"Yes?"

"Would that apply to ordinary people as well? Not just wizards?”

"Well, I suppose so. Imposing burdens would mean tampering with the real world itself, and ordinary people live in the real world.”

"But ordinary people aren’t Scarlet Abyss’ targets, right? Their sole purpose is to make mages fall.”

"That’s right.”

I shrugged.

"And that’s exactly why they don’t care about anything else. To put it bluntly, if they had to grind up ten thousand civilians to produce a single Fallen, they would do it a hundred times over.”

"..."

Carose was probably already aware of this.

It was just very hard to accept. I had noticed it before, but seeing how she worshiped the princess like a god, Carose seemed to be someone who solely lived for justice.

"Don’t worry too much. If we know about it, we can stop it. If something happens, Her Highness Sharmia will foresee and prevent it.”

"Ah…”

Carose’s hand, holding the reins, began to tremble.

"What happened to the executive you captured?”

"It committed suicide. It’s probably back with Scarlet Abyss by now.”

"So it’s…the Lump, huh?”

"Hm? You know that thing?”

Only then did I realize something. She was the princess’ guard Knight. Of course she would know every Scarlet Abyss executive whose name and face were known.

Carose nodded slightly and continued.

"It’s come up a few times in conversations with Her Highness. Its combat strength is relatively low since all it does is borrow the bodies of Knights, but because it would always resurrect inside Scarlet Abyss’ headquarters no matter how many times we killed it, it’s an extremely annoying opponent.”

Had they fought before? It was an assessment that perfectly matched the Lump’s traits.

Just as I was thinking that the Empire was a lot more competent than I had expected, Carose looked at me with determined eyes.

"I’ve heard many things from Her Highness that others would never know. Not because I’m special, but simply because I’ve absorbed a small fraction of the knowledge she carries.”

"Hmm… I see.”

"Jern. I’m also aware of Scarlet Abyss executives you don’t know about.”

What? Was she bragging?

I looked back at her with an expression that clearly said, ‘So what?’ to which she cleared her throat before elaborating.

"I can tell you. About the executives who aren’t known to the public—those whose existence no one knows about yet.”

"Did Her Highness discover that through her prophetic ability?”

"...Yes."

Carose nodded.

"It appears that you intend to actively make contact with Scarlet Abyss this time as well.”

"Yes. It’s directly tied to my survival.”

At this point, I didn’t even know what “Three Calamities” truly meant.

At best, I could only speculate that it referred to three Great Realms capable of sustaining life.

"In that case, knowing their core figures and how they operate would be helpful to you. What do you think?”

"I can’t say I’m not tempted, but—”

"I won’t ask for anything in return.”

Before I could even finish my sentence, Carose cut me off.

"This isn’t an order from Her Highness either. It’s my own, unilateral decision.”

"...?"

This Knight, so utterly devoted to the princess, was acting without her orders—without an obvious purpose—offering to provide me with such important information?

It was a bit suspicious, but she wasn’t the type to lie. And there was no harm in listening to what she had to say, so I nodded.

"Then I’ll gladly accept. Do you want to tell me here?”

Carose glanced behind us and shook her head.

"It will take quite a while. When you return to the Empire, come find me. Tell the palace guards my name and yours. They’ll notify me.”

"Yes. I’m looking forward to it.”

Aside from the Lump and Decay, I knew almost nothing about the Scarlet Abyss executives. Any information about them was invaluable to me.

While her sudden change in attitude was quite puzzling, I genuinely thanked her. She answered, her body facing forward.

"You’ll understand once you hear it, but I suspect you’ll find it hard to believe.”

"Huh? Why?”

"Because among the executives, there is someone you already know.”

"...Really?”

"Yes. Well, not yet. But soon.”

Carose’s voice was filled with certainty.

No way.

Alarmed, I replayed her behavior toward me up until now.

That subtle, unexplained hostility.

All those attempts to coax me…

I frowned as I replied.

"I think I know who you mean.”

"...What?"

Carose asked back, startled that I already had a guess before she even said anything.

"You already know?”

"Yes. There’s only one person around me who’s closest to Scarlet Abyss.”

"...Who do you think it is?”

"So this is what they mean by getting your foot chopped off by the axe you trusted…”

Under Carose’s startled gaze, I answered her.

"Well, it seemed like Master was on the verge of falling recently, so…”

So that insane master of mine, Dercia, was finally going to fall and join Scarlet Abyss.

I should have known the moment she started stuffing people into books and rewriting their memories.

As I lamented, Carose snapped back sharply, her tone a mix of relief and exasperation.

"You’re completely wrong. Absolutely not.”

"Huh?"

Wait, then who is it?

I couldn’t even begin to guess.

* * *

A small mountain outside a city.

Inside a cave somewhere along its slope, a man opened his eyes.

It was cold. That was the first thing he realized, before he clutched his head, struggling to sit upright.

"...My head."

As a splitting headache pounded through his skull, memories from the previous night flooded back.

He was a mountain herb gatherer. He had learned to identify and harvest medicinal plants from his father, and having never learned anything else, he had been perfectly satisfied with that trade for as long as he lived.

And last night, he had gone up the back mountain to collect glowleaf herbs that only shone at night…

And that was where his memory cut off.

"...Where am I?”

Forcing himself to ignore the throbbing headache, he looked around. A cold, narrow, dark cave. It was so cold that that water would freeze solid if left alone. He could see some not-quite-frozen water pooling across the floor. It only formed a thin sheet of ice on its surface.

Which meant that this water had just flowed here. Only then did the herb gatherer notice that his entire body and all his clothes were damp.

He felt a chill far worse than the one the cave emitted seeping from those clothes.

As if they had been frozen just moments ago.

"..."

Unable to make sense of this situation, a shiver ran down his spine as he desperately searched his memory.

Just what had happened last night, after his memory went blank?

'That’s right, I met someone halfway up the mountain…’

Fragmented memories began to assemble themselves.

It was a Knight. A man with muscles like a bear’s and a body like a tree. A figure one wouldn’t just call large but massive.

And so the herb gatherer had killed him.

"?"

At that, the herb gatherer froze in bewilderment.

Killed him? He did?

That Knight? A man wielding a greatsword larger than his own body, clad in armor that wouldn’t even get scratched if struck by a stone?

But it was true. He who had never truly fought anyone in his life, aside from some scuffles in his childhood, had toyed with that Knight and torn him apart.

"No, no…”

The herb gatherer shook his head.

His lifelong experience climbing this exact mountain told him the truth. The mountain he had been on in his memory was a different one. The hands and feet that killed that Knight were not his own.

And yet, the memories were his.

The terrified expression on the Knight’s face as he died. The sensation of crushing his armor. It was all so disgustingly vivid.

"Uuugh…”

The headache only worsened.

More memories surged up inside his mind. Had been a farmer, a guard, and sometimes even a Knight.

The guard killed the farmer. The farmer killed the Knight. The Knight killed the merchant. His self killed his other self. and another self killed that self in turn.

Countless chains. Countless selves killing and being killed by other selves without knowing where it began or where it ended.

"A-aaaaaaaaaarrgh….!”

Realizing what memory would surface next, the herb gatherer rolled across the ground, desperately trying to resist.

He had to stop this. His memories couldn’t reach that place.

If it did, he would become part of it. Another link in this endless chain.

An indescribable terror gripped him. But once memories started to burst forth, they could not be halted.

They just kept going, slowly gnawing away at him. And at last, the herb gatherer saw it.

[Wh-who are you?]

[Does this work for you?]

[Well, the more preparations, the better.]

A familiar back mountain.

A familiar self.

And then, death.

"Ah........"

And so he was devoured.

The herb gatherer could no longer distinguish between his past memories and his identity as an herb gatherer.

Yet the memories continued to gnaw at what remained of his body.

His body twitched again and again, replaying the memories etched into it.

For a long time.

The sun set, then rose, then set again.

"Fuck…”

When he finally stood up again, he was no longer an herb gatherer.

The Lump grabbed its head, stared out at the night sky beyond the cave, then tore off its own hand without any hesitation.

-Snap.

The severed hand withered, transforming into a lump of flesh with an ear attached.

The Lump made his report without pause.

"You’ve probably heard it from Decay already, but Dercia joined the fight. That bitch set a trap. What could I do? She’s a 9-star mage. I got caught.”

[...]

The twitching ear reshaped itself into a mouth.

[Confirmed. Anything unusual?]

"Hmm..."

The Lump tapped its head repeatedly.

It felt like there was something more, but having just finished its assimilation, the details just wouldn’t come to him.

Of course, even the feeling that something was missing in his memory was part of its burden, so it didn’t take it too seriously.

After thinking for a bit, something finally surfaced in the Lump’s mind.

"Ah, right. There was one thing I could confirm while I was caught in that trap.”

[What is it?]

"The disciple she’s raising is a Fallen. He’s got a Great Realm.”

[...You mean the one Decay was trying to lure in? Did you confirm what kind of world it is?]

"No. I don’t have a Great Realm. How would I know?"

The Lump paused, combing through its memories for a moment.

For some reason, that particular memory refused to come into focus, as if it didn’t quite recall. Rather than images, it felt like facts just surfaced instead.

"Still, no need to worry about it. He didn't seem like much. He’s the type who’ll get crushed by his burdens and die soon anyway.”

[Understood. Confirmed.]

"...Hmm."

After finishing its report, the Lump tried to sort through his tangled mind, only to realize that several facts just didn’t quite add up.

"Strange…”

Memory confusion was something it expected. But some parts just felt as if they were shrouded in fog.

If It had to guess, it was probably just the acceleration of its burdens.

The Lump eventually stood up after concentrating on those few discrepancies.

"Tsk, whatever.”

It might simply be because not much time had passed since the assimilation.

It could always check later, so it relaxed and looked toward the village at the foot of the back mountain.

"Since I used that back there…”