Wizard of the Deep Sea Chapter 51

TL/ED – Miso

I looked around and quickly assessed the situation.

I had just been told to join the Crimson Circle. In other words, it meant they had found out that I was an Abyss Realm Wizard.

From my standpoint, not knowing what method they used, denial was meaningless. Instead, I gently refused in a way that wouldn’t provoke them.

“I have no intention of joining a murderous-terrorist group that doesn’t even know what they’ll be doing in the future. Please allow me to apologize for declining, and I wish your organization boundless prosperity.”

“What we’ll do in the future, huh…”

Decay muttered and took a step forward.

Just that movement made cold sweat drip down my back. I had seen it before, but it felt like the deep sea was freezing, the surrounding temperature dropping drastically, I could feel it on my skin.

“If you’re curious about that, I can tell you.”

“Yes. We won’t do anything.”

It was bullshit. I replied, feeling completely deflated.

“…That’s really reassuring.”

“There’s no reason for me to lie. The goal has been achieved. And you, too, will soon lose the place you belong to.”

“What?”

“What have we done? Think about it.”

“Well, you did terrible things. Things so awful, the purpose was unknowable…”

Just as I was thinking what the hell he was saying,

I saw Decay’s gaze reach me.

…What did that guy just say?

“…Isolation?”

“Ho.”

He smiled as if satisfied. I forgot that I was standing before the enemy and felt a dizzying sense of horror.

“So, you make everyone aware that Abyss Realm Wizards exist, and at the same time plant the image that they are potential terrorists… making it so there’s nowhere to go but the Crimson Circle-”

“More precisely, making them come to us.”

“You’re insane.”

Kidnapping, murder, terrorism, theft. There was no discernible causal relationship among their actions.

Thus, Dersia and I concluded that the overarching reason was to raise the Crimson Circle’s name recognition and boost their stature.

It was only natural. There had been no clear goal in the first place. In reality, they were indeed in contact with the underworld.

“It will be a long-term battle. We need to lay the groundwork.”

However, if that was the essence of it.

It wasn’t directed at the Empire, nor at Wizards.

It was a coercive love letter aimed solely at Abyss Realm Wizards. A message saying that soon there would be only one place left for them to belong to.

“…So there are more Fallen living in hiding than I thought.”

“Seems you didn’t know. For a while, we’ll have to make contact with them. We will hide. And the Empire, in its effort to find us who are in hiding, will persecute the Fallen. Where do you think they’ll go? Who do you think they’ll seek out?”

…No matter how I looked at it, he wasn’t sane.

Hiding the contempt in my gaze, I stared at Decay and began preparing the most effective form of resistance.

To do that, I had to make him focus on me. I threw out the most difficult question to answer.

“What the hell are you doing all this for? Do you want to live that badly?”

“Our goal is protection.”

“…Huh?”

I didn’t think he’d actually answer, so I was slightly caught off guard as I asked again.

What did he mean by protection?

Their own lives? Or that pitiful power?

But the words Decay spoke surpassed all such imagination.

“You and this world. Everything that allows us to exist.”

“…”

If it was a joke, it wasn’t even laughable.

Seeing my eyes cool down to a frozen stare, Decay twisted his lips and reached out his hand.

It was pale, like a corpse.

“Look.”

I wondered what he meant for me to look at. Then, that arm turned violet, then black, and shriveled, thud.

It became ice and dropped to the ground. In an instant, Decay had become one-armed, and as he stared at his severed arm, he muttered,

“I am not allowed even a moment. Every day, every minute, every second I must resist. The moment I give up resisting the pain, what you fear now will become a frozen corpse.”

Decay’s subordinate, while not as horrifying as he, looked quite dreadful too.

He stepped on the bloodless arm and crushed it as he calmly asked,

“You still think we want to preserve our lives? Who in this world would wish to go on living? If I could, I would escape by becoming a phenomenon. That state you call death. Resisting the impulse and remaining human is a choice only I make.”

“Then just go ahead and do it.”

“You too will arrive at the same destination as me. Do you really think you won’t choose the end even after experiencing pain greater than death?”

“…I’m not sure.”

It wasn’t just something I said. I truly didn’t know.

That guy Decay seemed to have lived for quite a long time, so everything I was about to say in my outburst must’ve already been said by him at some point.

And yet he still turned out like that… Honestly, I’d like to endure the burden without too much pain, but it doesn’t seem like it’ll be that easy.

Whether I can truly endure that pain or not, there’s no way to know until I actually experience it.

Still, one thing is certain.

“However, no matter what happens, if I die, I’ll die alone, and I won’t put anything other than my own life on the scale.”

“…”

-If I die, I’ll die alone. I have no intention of taking innocent people down with me.

I don’t really know what kind of expression I had as I glared at him, but Decay gave a deeply satisfied smile and waved his arm.

Crackle- like some kind of mollusk, bone sprouted, flesh squirmed over it, and a new arm formed. Rather than finding it disgusting, I was more curious about how a guy who couldn’t even use magic could do something like that.

“You will put it on the scale. You’re a clever child. If you ever see the world lying on the opposite side, you’ll agonize over it a thousand times and eventually give up the lives of others. And then you’ll come looking for us.”

He extended his hand. It was still pale white.

“Take it. Then you’ll come to understand what the enemy truly is. You won’t concern yourself with individuals or groups, or such petty bindings.”

“Would you mind if I ask a few questions?”

While secretly pulling the key from my inner pocket and gripping it tightly, I masked the sound of wind blades cutting the desk with my words.

“Ask.”

“How did you know I’m an Abyss Realm Wizard? That Wihwa guy didn’t seem to know.”

“Wihwa wasn’t in his right mind. But, truthfully, I’m not entirely certain either. I can’t see your world.”

“What?”

What the hell is he saying? Decay furrowed his brow, as if he didn’t quite understand himself.

“Now that I’m this close to you, I can tell you don’t belong to this world. But… the rest I can’t see. This is a first.”

“You can’t tell what world I’m in?”

I thought he had figured out I was from the Deep Sea and came to capture me. Especially with this pearl.

“Yes. But I do know you belong to the Great Realm.”

“And what’s the Great Realm supposed to be?”

“The Abyss Realm that encompasses the self, others, and the world. The largest of all worlds.”

“You’ve got your categories pretty well organized, haven’t you?”

“To some extent. Unless your world is larger and broader than mine, I should be able to see it. So I can only assume it’s a world difficult to perceive.”

…Well, the Deep Sea is quite wide and deep.

“Still, regardless of the environment, we can give meaning to your meaningless struggle. If you want, I can also make it so you never have to go against your master. Unless she come at us, of course.”

“Just one more question.”

“What is it?”

Did he not notice?

Still gripping the desk, I asked the most efficient question.

“Who exactly are you saving us from? I mean, if you people just shut your mouths and all committed suicide, about 90% of the root causes would disappear. So I’m just curious, where do you get the confidence to call yourselves saviors of the world and claim your purpose is on the side of good with that bullshit?”

“…”

For a moment, Decay seemed surprised and widened his eyes, but he didn’t look particularly angry.

He slowly opened his mouth.

“What do you think would happen if the ground collapsed and the sky split apart?”

“What are you talking about?”

“If this world you call the Material Realm turned out like that, wouldn’t that mean complete annihilation for everyone?”

“Well… yeah?”

“In that case, wouldn’t stopping it be considered salvation?”

“Hmm. So, the Crimson Circle is made up of doomsday believers who think the world is going to end, huh?”

Well, cults usually gather followers using keywords like ‘the end’.

Decay shook his head.

“It’s not destruction. It’s inability to endure.”

“Right. I see. Thank you for the answer. I should give you mine as well.”

I’ll infiltrate the Crimson Circle under disguise, get what I need, and escape.

It’s still not a bad option. Judging by what he’s saying, the Crimson Circle has a lot of things and knowledge related to the Abyss Realm. If I join, I’ll certainly learn more about my own world.

“Honestly, I am interested.”

“Of course you are.”

But still.

“Even so, I’m sorry.”

The risk is high. If it’s revealed that I belong to the Deep Sea’s Abyss Realm, I have no idea what might happen.

And more than anything, I don’t want to be with these people.

“Honestly, I figured you already knew I’d respond like this before coming here.”

“I did. I also prepared a countermeasure.”

Without a care, Decay stepped closer with his hand still outstretched.

“What a shame, that I must resort to this method.”

“Yeah, I thought it might come to th-!”

I instantly released a wind blade and leapt backward.

I didn’t use any Deep Sea magic. If they didn’t know my identity, it was better to hide it as much as possible.

“You know it’s meaningless, don’t you?”

“-Ugh!”

Crack! Before I even realized it, my foot was frozen in a block of ice.

…Yeah, there’s truly not even the slightest chance of winning.

He was a powerhouse who had once clashed hands with Dersia. If he came at me seriously, I’d be killed instantly. The only reason he was speaking with me was because he had a purpose to take me along, if that purpose changed, I’d be nothing to him.

Soon, my lower body was completely frozen, but I groped around the desk and threatened him.

“You’d better not come any closer.”

“What could you possibly do?”

“Struggle. I don’t have any other talents besides that.”

-Click. The keyhole slid into the gap in the desk.

Decay, seeing the roughly etched lines on the desk that formed something resembling a small attic door, looked puzzled.

“What…?”

“It’s not like I did nothing during our conversation. A space that can become a room, an opening door, a keyhole. All the conditions are fulfilled. If I turn this key, it will open instantly.”

“…You-”

It was close.

If I had backed away during our conversation, it would’ve been safer for sure, but then he might’ve noticed I was carving the desk into a small room using wind magic mid-conversation.

No matter how fast Decay is, I can still open it. But that doesn’t mean the situation is in my favor. Even if I open the door, until Dersia assesses the situation, Decay has more than enough time to kill me.

So I attempted a reasonable compromise.

“If you walk away now, I won’t report this to Master. Master really cherishes and loves me, she even gave me a surname, you know? If you lay a hand on me, she’ll make it her life’s work to interfere with everything your group does.”

“Hmm…”

Decay stroked his chin with clear regret.

“A mistake, it seems. From the fact that Dersia is with you, I should’ve realized your disposition. I should’ve frozen your whole body first, then attempted a conversation.”

“…Yeah, maybe so.”

“I won’t make the same mistake next time.”

That’s bad. Seeing my expression twist, Decay smirked.

“Don’t worry. If there really is a next time, it’ll be because you’re the one seeking us out.”

“That will never happen. I’d rather die.”

“Is that so.”

Decay turned away as if he had no lingering attachment.

…Just moments ago, he was about to kidnap me, he’s really walking away that easily?

But then, he really opened the door. As if he was about to leave, he gave me a final, bizarre piece of advice.

“Don’t trust your master.”

“Trying to drive a wedge won’t work.”

“Your master is exceptional, and no doubt interested in you. However, she doesn’t desire your survival. If she did, she would’ve already made you into something not human.”

Decay gave me one last glance, then stepped out of the library.

“If you were to die from the burden, it would be a waste. Seek out a trustworthy knight, reveal your condition, and beg for your life. You might find help.”

“And why should I listen to a murderer who values human life as lightly as a feather?”

“Are those who don’t even have their own world truly human?”

A sentence that carried not even a trace of guilt.

“The day I come to know about your world… I truly look forward to it.”

Thud!

His final words echoed like a lingering sound.