Wizard of the Deep Sea

TL/ED – Miso

Dersia gently disassembled my body.

Since I turned off Current sense and refused to look, I couldn’t tell exactly what had happened… but one thing was certain: almost every part had been reconstructed.

Thinking I had become a modified human, I stepped down from the surgery table, nearly naked, with bloodstains scattered across it, and placed my feet on the floor.

The ground felt the same, and so did the sensations.

“Nothing feels all that different, though?”

“Of course, your appearance would remain the same.”

Dersia replied as if it were obvious, rubbing her hands together.

“But now, even if you feel a bit cold, it won’t hinder your activity or reach the point of threatening your life.”

“Is that so…”

Honestly, it still felt cold, but the cold didn’t feel like pain… no, it didn’t feel like discomfort.

It felt like my constitution had changed. Intrigued by the strange sensation, I moved my body around and asked.

“This is just a temporary measure, so if it gets too cold, you won’t be able to endure it. Be aware of that, at least.”

“Yes. But what exactly did you do? This is really fascinating.”

“Well, just… made a few structural changes. Yes.”

“?”

“It’s not particularly important. I’ll make sure to guarantee that there are no issues.”

…That’s unsettling.

Still, since she said it was fine, I let it go and, putting on my robe, rechecked the situation.

“Still, things seem to be going better than expected.”

According to what I heard during the surgery, it seemed everyone was doing better than expected.

The orphanage I had stayed at was now receiving better treatment than even regular children, and some among the poor were reportedly leaving their kids there and picking them up in the evening, almost like some sort of kindergarten.

Alletus had no political issues, and Elysia had successfully debuted in the social circles.

As for Linmel… apparently she was acting a bit strange, but at least she hadn’t caused any incidents yet.

“I’d like to go visit them all if I could, but the problem is a lack of time.”

“Perhaps you’ve set the timeline a bit too tightly.”

“There was no helping it. To deal with someone like Piercing Blood, I had to make them misjudge the situation.”

“Someone like Piercing Blood?”

“The type who sees everyone else as nothing more than the hilt of a sword.”

These kinds of people attempt to connect with others only by trying to seize them. One must not get entangled with them, but if one must, then, it’s necessary to clearly explain what kind of sword one is.

At the very least, Piercing Blood had the sense to recognize that I was a sword meant to slaughter cattle. To convey that, I had to handle it as quickly as possible and leave a strong impression.

Dersia listened to my words and chuckled as if it were amusing.

“Jern, are you talking about someone like yourself?”

“I’m not that extreme.”

Shaking my head in disapproval, I recalled the pain from earlier as I prepared to go persuade Karos.

“By the way, Master. I think I’ve developed a new Burden.”

“…You always bring new problems. Burdens aren’t something that just form out of nowhere.”

“Well, what can I do? As I was moving, I suddenly felt chest pain, nausea, even dizziness. No matter how I think about it, I can’t figure out what in the Deep Sea could’ve caused this kind of Burden to form.”

“Hmm…”

Even Dersia seemed uncertain, tilting her head as if the symptoms alone weren’t enough to figure it out.

“When did this happen?”

“At the mansion last time, and also on the way here. It’s also happened a few times during daily activities.”

“What were you doing during those times?”

“I did briefly use the inner world, but nothing more than that.”

“…”

Dersia let out a low hum, then nodded.

“I understand. I’ll investigate as quickly as possible based on what you’ve told me.”

“Thank you. Then, shall I go try to persuade Sir Karos now?”

Asking her to go easy on me wasn’t a problem.

But I also needed to evaluate her acting ability, and if it seemed lacking for deception, I’d have to give a harsh demonstration of what a proper loss looked like, so I needed to go quickly.

As she watched my retreating figure, Dersia tilted her head and asked,

“About that, what exactly do you plan to do?”

“Yes?”

“Surely you’re not planning to put on a performance where you fight and defeat Karos alone? No matter what, wouldn’t that seem too strange? Didn’t you say they’re mistaking it for Puppet world?”

“Hmm, is that so?”

“Yes. If you give them wrong information while they don’t know exactly what the World is, couldn’t they realize it’s a different World?”

“True…”

I hesitated, then came up with another plan.

“How about this?”

Hearing my idea, Dersia furrowed her brow.

“It could… work, I suppose. It’s an interesting concept.”

“Then let’s go with this. Looks like I have to meet with two people now. Hm…”

“Is there still something bothering you?”

“No, not exactly.”

Ever since I arrived in the Capital.

I had a feeling that I’d forgotten something.

I wasn’t exactly sure what it was, but…

“Well, let’s just do what we need to do first.”

If it was something I forgot, it probably wasn’t anything important anyway.

*

At that time.

What I had forgotten, Damyu, had been left alone.

Among these monsters.

“…”

“…”

“…Hic.”

If there was one small thing to be thankful for, it was that Piercing Blood’s assassination squad had little interest in a mere Keeper like Damyu. They weren’t in a position to waste attention on someone they could kill anytime.

Most of the members were watching Piercing Blood with dark expressions, gauging his mood as he pondered.

While Damyu quietly tried to retreat without drawing attention, Piercing Blood, who had been silent, opened his mouth with a tone of disbelief.

“What the hell kind of confidence is that?”

“…I don’t really know.”

It wasn’t as if he didn’t know who the Princess’s knight was.

Even if he didn’t, saying you’d enter the Empire and suddenly bring her out just doesn’t make sense.

It’s no different than saying: “I’ll infiltrate a country, and within three days I’ll lead an army to massacre everyone right in front of you. Just wait.”

“Couldn’t he have run away?”

“It’s hard to believe he’d just hand over the World-Sealing Pill and leave. And judging by his World, he’s got the power to escape with just his body at any time. He wouldn’t choose such a stupid method to run away…”

In the end, there was only one conclusion.

He was confident.

Confident enough to enter. That space, which was hellish for those Fallen.

“Hmm… There hasn’t been any disturbance yet…”

“Looks like he hasn’t been discovered. How strange. Weren’t all the Fallen who infiltrated the Capital caught within half a day?”

“Right. It must be Puppet.”

Within the Capital, it had long since become a forbidden zone, even among the Crimson Circle.

No matter how well one sneaked in, no matter what one disguised themselves as, strangely, they’d always be found within a day. And with Karos in the Capital, detection meant death.

The only World capable of changing that was Puppet. If it weren’t at least that level of a World, none of it would make sense.

Of course, even if that were the case, nothing would change.

The courage was admirable, but the opponent was bad. Karos was among the top-ranked knights, even by World standards.

So the discussion returned to the starting point.

“What is he so confident about…?”

They had planned out every possible method to persuade Undercurrent and somehow get Karos to clash with him, but with how things turned out, it had all been for nothing.

Should they just move forward like this, or at least confirm that the guy gets executed? That was the only dilemma Piercing Blood was wrestling with.

“Shall we just wait for now? It shouldn’t take long. No matter how powerful the Puppet World may be, once he’s inside the Capital, it’s just a matter of time.”

“Hmm, then…”

Just as Piercing Blood nodded in agreement.

“Urgh…!”

A member sitting nearby with eyes closed suddenly clutched his mouth.

“Cough, blegh…!”

“What is it? What’s going on?!”

Coughing up blood, he trembled as he looked toward the sky.

“Th-the fog has dispersed.”

“…What?”

“Someone has infiltrated the vicinity!”

“Everyone, prepare yourselves.”

Piercing Blood did not panic.

There were plenty who sought to steal the World-Sealing Pill held by his faction. It wouldn’t be strange if another member had followed them.

Or perhaps the Royal Family had noticed, since they were near the Capital. Whatever it was, he was ready to respond.

As soon as Piercing Blood gave the order, each member began preparing to break the Material Realm, raising their hands.

And then lowered them.

“…Fuck?”

“She really came?”

Though it was still a fair distance across the plains, that fearfully familiar black armor was not something one could ever forget.

Upon seeing that slowly approaching figure, the first to give up was Piercing Blood.

“Tsk, looks like that bastard talked. We’ll have to retreat.”

He assumed Undercurrent had been captured and revealed their location to save his own life. That was the only way to interpret this scene.

The only answer was to flee. Of course, escaping from such a monster wouldn’t come without sacrifices.

At that moment, Piercing Blood’s gaze shifted toward Damyu, who was quietly trying to sneak away.

“If we throw that one to her, we could buy at least a little time.”

“…Yes?”

“Bring her.”

“Yep!”

“Kyaaaaa!!”

While Damyu was cursing the world and Undercurrent, who had abandoned her, something changed in Karos.

She looked around, then pointed her sword not toward where Piercing Blood was, but in another direction.

And in a very tired voice, she murmured.

“I know you’re there. Come out.”

“…”

–Shff, from the grass a knight stepped out.

He wore no helmet, his bare face visible. It was a face even Piercing Blood recognized.

He hurriedly opened his mission list.

“Brimdal? I heard he retired, so why…”

He knew Brimdal was a powerful knight, but that was a story from long ago.

Still, having been a knight for centuries, his strength was predictable.

No way, Piercing Blood reeled at the thought of another possibility, but the face that appeared behind Brimdal confirmed it.

“Hmmm, to be noticed this quickly, worthy of the Princess’s knight indeed.”

Undercurrent, for some reason looking very excited.

“I am being controlled. It’s regrettable, but there’s nothing I can do.”

Brimdal too, also looking oddly excited, stood alongside him, both pointing their swords at Karos.

“…Release Sir Brimdal immediately. If not, I will tear you apart limb from limb.”

Even from this side, just hearing her sent chills, the threat was saturated with murderous intent, but Undercurrent replied slyly and pushed Brimdal forward.

“I can’t make it that easy. Raise your sword.”

“Haa…”

With a deep sigh, Karos lowered her upper body without a word, and thrust her sword forward.

Watching her with deep impression, Brimdal twisted his mouth and advanced.

“I must make sure of it…! Do your best!”

–Kwa-jik!

The sound that rang across the plains was far too savage to simply be swords clashing.

The shockwave reached even where Piercing Blood was hiding, and such sword strikes clashed dozens of times.

“…Th-this is…”

Piercing Blood, already having forgotten about escaping, stared at the battle in a daze.

It was too magnificent. Beyond anything he could ever hope to match, it was a proper fight.

With that Karos.

“Did he… really have a chance to win?”

Rather than just tying a knight capable of fighting Karos to him, what amazed Piercing Blood more was the fact that the man had escaped the Capital without incident and lured Karos out.

Even if it was Puppet, just using that World wouldn’t be enough to produce this result.

The deepest pit that the Fallen can touch.

The Erosion that those who hadn’t become phenomena could open.

“Inner World Menifestation…”

Even as Piercing Blood was reevaluating things, the battle continued.

“Hmm, very good!”

“I’m not doing well!”

–Kang! Every twisted, grotesque clash targeted each other’s vitals without the slightest mercy.

At the unrelenting, unfiltered exchanges, several members swallowed nervously.

Maybe this was their chance. That thought crossed their minds.

“Sh-should we join in too?”

“You think that’s possible? Stay put.”

He dismissed the idea immediately. Jumping into that kind of battle would only increase casualties, not help.

Fallen could partially nullify the Enhanced Mana Body of knights, so unlike ordinary wizards, they had a much more favorable fighting chance.

But against a knight of that caliber, even a Fallen would be instantly killed.

“And even if you brought her down, there’s nothing to gain.”

“Ah… you’re right.”

Even if Karos were killed, not a single World-Sealing Pill would fall.

It wasn’t even worth evaluating as a gamble with their lives.

But.

Piercing Blood rubbed his chin as he watched the tightly matched fight.

“Perhaps…”

Maybe if he supported that guy, he really could reach the Upper Tier.

“Haaa…”

For some reason, Karos’s sigh rang out heavily.