Wizard of the Deep Sea

TL/ED – Miso

When I realized I had lost my memories.

And when Dark Night, with an intrigued expression, said only one thing—that I had sworn loyalty to her.

I bowed my head without asking a single question.

“Yes. Then I shall swear my loyalty.”

“Really? How delightful.”

“…”

I remember Number 1 staring at me as if I were some kind of monster.

After receiving what was called “education” but was really just a transfer of facts I needed to know, I searched my body. There were only three things in my possession.

A key that gave no indication of what it might open.

A pill that looked like a pearl.

And a strange creature encyclopedia.

“…What is this?”

Setting aside the other two, the last item was the strangest.

When I read through it, the writing and handwriting were mine. But the entries inside described nothing but monstrous creatures whose existence I couldn’t accept, no matter how much memory I had lost.

In the end, I forgot about the book while trying to grasp my situation.

Until I saw a long, bleeding eel pass before my eyes.

“?”

At first, I wondered what it could be.

I wondered if it was normal to see monstrous creatures swimming through clear skies, but when I asked others, I learned it was not.

“Is that a creature living in Dark Night-nim’s World?”

“…? What are you pointing at? Do you mean that bird?”

“No, the one riding the current of water…”

“Current?”

That was when I realized not everyone existed in the same environment as me. Feeling as though the world was underwater, seeing these monstrous creatures living around me—it was all happening only to me.

It didn’t take long to figure out what kind of symptom this was.

“Is that really you…?”

“Yes. Look at me! I escaped the Burden with my sanity intact. If not for Dark Night-nim, I’d still be pulling out my teeth every day.”

“C-Could I also…”

“Of course. That’s how benevolent she is. You can do it too!”

Through my main duty of recruiting Fallen, I recognized that this was remarkably similar to the symptoms of Burden they suffered from.

But something was strange. According to Dark Night, I was a Fallen who had sworn loyalty to her in exchange for having all the Burden of my World transferred away.

While I felt something didn’t add up, other Family members returned to the Capital.

By then, I had become fairly close with them. I went to help as well.

“What’s going on?”

“We brought back Livestock.”

“?”

To me, they looked like nothing but ordinary people. Thinking they might be slaves, I asked again.

“Are these people Fallen too?”

“No. They’re Livestock, literally. They’re the ones who take on portions of our Burden.”

“…Pardon?”

“What, you didn’t know?”

“Well, didn’t they say this one offered up his memories? That would explain it.”

The other Family members had taken a liking to me for my hard work, so they explained things step by step.

“Dark Night-nim takes on all of our Burden. But no matter how great she is, she can’t endure it all alone, can she?”

“That’s true.”

“But amazingly, Puppet allows one to transfer its Burden to others. So Dark Night-nim makes these Livestock experience the Burden she receives from us in her stead.”

“…Are the Livestock bred for this purpose?”

“Ha ha, we call them Livestock, but we don’t actually breed them like cattle or chickens or pigs. Usually we collect natives, orphans, and vagrants from surrounding nations. Thanks to your hard work lately, we’re planning to bring some from a nearby small nation as well.”

“Ah, that’s a relief.”

At their matter-of-fact response, I smiled with satisfaction and patted my chest in relief.

“If what you say is true, the countermeasure against Burden seems perfect.”

“It’s all thanks to her love for us.”

Watching the Family members laugh heartily and the Livestock who only repeated what was programmed into them—that was when I finally understood everything.

Why the me before losing my memories had come here, and why I hadn’t told Dark Night that I still hadn’t transferred all my Burden and avoided any follow-up measures.

I had come here to kill Dark Night.

“When do you plan to bring Livestock from the small nation?”

“Hm? Why do you ask?”

“I was wondering if there might be anything I could help with.”

“Ha ha, you just focus on bringing in Fallen. We’ll handle such trivial tasks. Still, with the Burden we need to manage increasing lately, we’ll probably have to head out within a month.”

“I see. I’ve been worried that my work might be adding more concerns for the Family.”

“Ha, this fellow with his strange worries…”

The time limit was set.

However, the method was far from promising.

Dark Night commanded countless Family members. I was alone, bearing my Burden. The difference in power went beyond overwhelming—it was like trying to crack steel with an egg.

This was also where I discovered what my past self had prepared.

-Crrrack!

“Guh.”

My breath caught and I felt a nauseating pressure. But at the same time, I clenched my fist as I looked at the person-sized boulder reduced to dust.

I could expand my World.

I had the power to make my enemy taste this hell.

“This is going to be difficult…”

I agonized over it and devised a plan, but in the end, I couldn’t find certainty at the final step.

No matter what outlandish method I devised, I couldn’t avoid facing Dark Night alone. That was the very purpose of the plan from the start.

As for whether I could defeat her in that moment—the conclusion was always that I could not.

Dark Night could always lower her Threads to control me, could strangle me at any moment. Even if I tried to crush her to death, she could simply transfer that Burden away.

The only way to kill her was through World’s Burden, but unlike her who could kill me instantly, my Burden was always blocked.

And so, with no good solution, I spent a long time refining plans. Then one day.

[…..]

[—–?]

Those things swimming through my World.

While watching those monstrous creatures, I reached out my hand on a whim.

I believe the Thread touched the body of a headless octopus.

[.]

[.]

For an instant, just an instant.

The creature the Thread touched came under my control.

But it meant nothing.

[?..???]

Every creature swarmed the octopus.

-Crrrrack!! With teeth, claws, and manes, they seized, tore, and ripped the octopus apart.

Not a trace of the octopus remained. Once it was gone, they all resumed swimming as if nothing had happened.

“…So.”

I learned two things.

First, I must never let these creatures become aware of my existence.

“This is it.”

Second, before that octopus was devoured—

I had definitely moved its legs with my will.

*

I had expected that a Fallen of Dark Night’s caliber would be able to see it.

And I expected she would be surprised.

But Dark Night was not surprised. Instead, she gritted her teeth.

“…Decay.”

“?”

And she spoke a name I had never heard before.

“So that’s it. He didn’t like me.”

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

Without answering, rain fell upon the Deep Sea.

Enough Threads descended to give that impression, obscuring my vision.

The Threads weren’t targeting me. They were targeting the Deep Sea Creatures.

It was the obvious move. If we tried to use Servitude on the same targets, there was no way I could beat someone who had been raised in Puppet from birth.

So I simply smiled and did only one thing.

I released them from Servitude.

[?]

[…?]

The creatures that had been my puppets just moments ago looked bewildered, then effortlessly evaded the Threads reaching for their bodies.

Their speed was extraordinary. Watching Dark Night narrow her brow after failing to bind the Deep Sea Creatures, I lowered my Threads again.

Strangely, they didn’t notice “me” at all.

Neither the Threads I wielded nor the fact that I existed.

Whenever they showed movements as if about to realize, a chill ran down my spine—but the important point was that they still didn’t know.

But whenever I bound one with my Threads, it was devoured instantly.

So I bound all the Deep Sea Creatures in that area at once.

It cost me every Thread I had.

Watching them accept my Threads without any resistance, Dark Night ground her teeth.

“You dare try to abandon me? Without me, you wouldn’t have achieved even half the Prophecy!”

“No, I really don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

“Shut up!”

Dark Night pulled out Threads again and again, trying over and over.

I hid my slight tension behind a forced smile. If even one Deep Sea Creature fell under Dark Night’s control, I would be utterly helpless.

Because—in truth, I had only half-succeeded in binding the Deep Sea Creatures.

I could make them move by twisting their bodies somehow. But commands like “bite the enemy with your teeth”—no attack order would go through no matter what I tried.

I had even practiced by binding similar-looking fish. Those were quite easy to move.

But the Deep Sea Creatures were different. They felt like something living in a completely different world. And in truth, they probably were.

So if Dark Night managed to implant her Threads and realized she too could only make them move—I would be a dead man.

Fortunately.

“…!”

Not a single Deep Sea Creature fell to Dark Night.

Some grabbed at the Threads as if annoyed and snapped them. Watching this, Dark Night’s face darkened.

It seemed there was damage beyond simply having her Threads severed.

The situation had reversed. Bluffing was the obvious thing to do, so I taunted her in a slick tone.

“How is it? Enduring it must be quite difficult.”

“…”

In reality, even at this very moment, Dark Night was transferring the Deep Sea’s Burden.

Not just any Burden—the Deep Sea’s Burden. I couldn’t even imagine how much she had to transfer just to function normally.

If Damyu protected the Fallen well enough to keep them alive, then as time passed… she would eventually have to bear the Burden with her own body.

If I held out, I would win. That much was certain.

In that situation, she suddenly stopped.

“…What a waste.”

She looked at me with an expression of regret.

…?

There was no dismissal like “Is that all?” No desperation saying “This can’t be.” Nothing.

Well, of course, regret was close to a negative emotion, but…

For some reason, I felt uneasy.

“Tsk, I wanted to at least keep your mind intact…”

“…What do you mean?”

Looking at me with slight irritation mixed with anger, she raised her hand to point at me and attempted dialogue.

“You. You’re Decay’s dog. I’m asking one last time. Get out of oppa’s body.”

“The situation is in my favor. If you bring proper evidence, then I’ll consider it.”

“You were just being used. If you want to die as yourself at least, follow my words.”

“Used by whom?”

“Decay. Decay probably noticed to some extent that you were Deep Sea.”

“…?”

“Ah, so it starts from there.”

“Ugh…”

The moment she snapped her fingers—suddenly my mind became noisy.

Amid the chaotic memories, I caught the word Decay. Clutching my head, I glared at her as I realized what she had done.

“Even if you do this, nothing changes.”

“Now you know who Decay is, don’t you?”

“…”

Just now, Dark Night had returned my memories.

With the overwhelming flood of information, my past self and present self hadn’t yet become one, but I did remember that Decay was a member of the Upper Tier.

She continued irritably.

“Decay set this up so you would kill me and rise to the Upper Tier. He’s been criticizing me for not listening to Void and only serving my own interests. He decided to empty my seat for a Deep Sea position.”

“That sounds like an excellent choice. So would you care to tell me the downside?”

“I had already suspected as much from the moment Mother told me about you. I still made you my subordinate despite that.”

Dark Night glared at me as she spoke.

“One, because I thought you would make a good oppa. Two—because you’re already my Family, my child.”

“…Pardon?”

“Say it.”

Dark Night pulled a Thread from her finger and threw it toward me.

The Thread rode the seawater and stopped before me.

“Say that you’ll become a blank slate with only your mind remaining. Say it. Then I’ll piece together and insert the remaining memories. You’ll become my oppa again.”

“Hmm…”

I nodded, then raised my middle finger.

“An attractive offer, but I’ll have to decline.”

“Fool.”

Dark Night let out a deep sigh and reached out her hand again.

I thought she was making a similar offer in a different way.

But she wasn’t.

In an instant, my mind went beyond clouded—something began happening.

“You seem to be under a misunderstanding.”

No way.

Hiding the “No way, really?” feeling, I looked up at her.

“I can transfer Burden to Family members too.”

…Ah.

Right.

I had forgotten—to her, Family were tools.