Wizard of the Deep Sea

TL/ED – Miso

When I opened the door to Sharmia’s room and stepped out, Dersia was leaning against the wall beside it.

She looked at me, rolled her eyes, and let out a sigh.

“I had a feeling, but sure enough, you chose that path.”

“It’s the most rational method. You knew that, which is why you allowed it, didn’t you?”

If I could come back from death with nothing but information, nothing could be better.

Dersia furrowed her brow at my response.

“You take death too lightly.”

“The Princess has died thousands of times. Surely I can manage once. By the way, how exactly will I be revived?”

“I adapted a technique I created. Jern, the moment you die, all the memories you’ve accumulated will be transmitted into the Princess’s mind.”

“…What?”

“The next moment, the Princess will take her own life while holding those memories. Her memories after returning will then be retransmitted into your mind. So it’s a technique that only activates upon certain death.”

“Is this really safe?”

“It’s not. If you use it more than once, your brain will melt and you’ll die. And there’s a time limit. If more than a month’s worth of memories accumulate, both the Princess and you will end up as vegetables, so you must die before then.”

“…”

The method was bizarre enough that I understood why the Princess hadn’t wanted to explain.

Only after seeing my dumbfounded expression did Dersia’s mood seem to improve, the corners of her lips softening as she walked away.

“Follow me.”

“Is there somewhere else to go?”

“I think we need to check on the puppy you brought.”

Ah.

Damyu.

With so many major events, I had completely forgotten.

If Dersia had been responsible for her… I suppressed thoughts of severed limbs and a broken mind as I opened the door to the underground room where she’d arrived.

“Oh, um? Undercurrent-nim? You’re awake!”

“…She looks fine.”

Damyu seemed to have no problems.

None at all, in fact.

Seeing her lying on a silk bed, popping snacks into her mouth, I let out a sigh, then asked Dersia, who wore an expectant expression beside me.

“What did you do to her?”

“Nothing much. I just used her as experimental material.”

“I was experimental material…?”

Damyu tilted her head with a blank expression as she got up.

“It seems so, but you didn’t have any discomfort, did you?”

“Ah, no. She just drew some blood and asked me questions. That was all.”

Indeed, there didn’t seem to be any external injuries. After exchanging glances with Dersia for a moment, I sat her down in a nearby chair and got to the point.

“Well, I’m sure you’ve already figured it out by now. The truth is, I was a traitor who infiltrated the Crimson Circle under orders from the Empire.”

“Ah, okay.”

Damyu accepted it far too calmly.

This was supposed to be the process of convincing her, but since there was no denial, I tilted my head and asked again.

“Don’t you feel betrayed?”

“W-Well, I actually started to notice partway through…”

“Even the minions caught on. You’re doing a great job, Jern.”

“…She must be lying.”

I glared at Damyu, who was poking her fingers together.

She protested with an aggrieved look.

“It’s true! Piercing Blood had a clear reason to kill the Upper Tier members, but you didn’t have anything like that, Master. But seeing you keep trying to gamble when you could have escaped made it obvious you had some other agenda, you know? I just didn’t know it went as far as being a secret spy of the Empire.”

“…”

I thought she lived without any thoughts, but it seemed she was at least perceptive. Then she blinked at me with anxious eyes.

“So… am I going to die?”

“No. If you want, I’ll let you go. But only after everything is over.”

Releasing her now would disrupt the plan. In Damyu’s case, now that she knew, keeping her confined was the best option.

“Until then, Dersia, my master, will keep you alive while researching you, so don’t worry.”

“Yes, um, but…”

Damyu dragged out her words as if she had something more to say.

“If you have something to say, say it.”

“Could I perhaps help?”

“…? Help with what?”

“The betrayal of the Crimson Circle. I think I could be useful…”

I exchanged glances with Dersia for a moment.

Her expression said she didn’t understand why Damyu was acting this way either, so I asked again.

“How could you help?”

“Well, I’ve been serving as storage after all, haven’t I?”

“That’s right.”

“Even though it’s small scale, I’ve met quite a few Lower Tier members, so I know who took on missions from whom. For example, there’s a Lower Tier organization that’s been consistently carrying out missions given by Decay… and I know where those people are.”

She continued cautiously.

“If you really intend to oppose the Upper Tier, wouldn’t it be good to know exactly what those people are doing and what their objectives are? For example, Dark Night was trying to gather the Fallen into her kingdom and make them Family, and Decay is probably doing something similar.”

“I understand what you’re saying, but I can’t comprehend why you want to help.”

Of course, whatever happened, I could try again. I had received one chance from Sharmia.

But that didn’t mean I could act recklessly. If possible, I wanted to find the information they most wanted to hide before escaping.

Damyu hesitated, then opened her mouth as if she had made a decision.

“I’ve been with Undercurrent-nim for quite a long time. So I’ll tell you my honest feelings.”

“Go ahead.”

“I don’t know how things will turn out, so I’m trying to maintain connections with both sides.”

“?”

“From my perspective, having spent half my life in the Crimson Circle, the Empire’s destruction at their hands seemed beyond doubt. It was that obvious.”

Saying that, Damyu met my eyes directly.

“But if there’s someone like Undercurrent-nim. And if you’ve reached the Upper Tier like this, sometimes I think ‘what if?’ or ‘maybe?’ I still don’t know how things will turn out, though.”

“So?”

“If I act alongside Undercurrent-nim and you win, all the Fallen of the Crimson Circle will become targets for execution, right?”

“That’s likely.”

“I’ll help you in preparation for that. Since you’re someone who doesn’t forget debts of gratitude, I trust you’ll remember that I risked my life to help you.”

“What if I lose?”

“Then I’ll confess everything I’ve learned and beg the Upper Tier members to let me off just this once.”

I was momentarily speechless at such a brazen declaration of potential betrayal.

Damyu hurriedly added.

“But don’t worry. As long as Undercurrent-nim doesn’t give up, I won’t do anything like that either. Because I know you, Undercurrent-nim, who worked toward the same goal even after losing your memory.”

Dersia, who had been watching Damyu with an intrigued expression, laughed lightly.

“Jern. It seems you have a peculiar charm for attracting lunatics.”

“Coming from you, Master, I can’t deny it.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing at all.”

I let out a sigh. While she was too honest, her logic made sense precisely because she had laid out the possibility of betrayal.

If she was this obsessed with self-preservation, she wouldn’t act rashly while held in check by that possibility. Strictly speaking, keeping her confined would be better, but…

At least I had one use of invincibility.

“I’ll work hard! Thank you!”

“Don’t work too hard…”

I pushed away Damyu with Current as she rushed toward me.

Even considering all that, I still didn’t have much faith in her.

***

Damyu immediately did what needed to be done.

“Actually, someone called for Undercurrent-nim from this place!”

“Who?”

“I think it’s someone from the Upper Tier… and the deadline is coming up soon.”

“How soon?”

“Um… midnight tonight?”

“…”

I sighed, looking at her. She seemed just as surprised, as if she had only just realized it herself.

If they were calling for me now, the reason was clear. It seemed I wouldn’t have time to greet anyone else.

“Fortunately, it’s a place where I’ve left a door open.”

Dersia wordlessly opened the door.

“If you wish, I could accompany you…”

“It would be a disaster if you were discovered.”

“Tsk. Take care of yourself.”

That much I was confident about.

Passing through the opened door—

“…Where is this?”

Only an eerie ruin was visible.

There had once been a castle, it seemed, but now only stone fragments were scattered everywhere, the aftermath of war.

The door of the abandoned house I had come through crumbled the moment I closed it. Even searching carefully, there was no one around, so I asked Damyu again.

“This is the right place?”

“Y-Yes… that’s what they said.”

“Hm.”

As I walked around, glancing at the bewildered Damyu—

“I was wondering when you’d come. Wizard of the Abyss.”

“…”

A voice I absolutely couldn’t ignore came from beside me.

A masked man wearing a black robe exactly like mine was watching us, leaning against the castle ruins with his arms crossed.

…I hadn’t noticed at all. Not even slightly.

Even now. Current Sense wasn’t detecting him.

Feeling goosebumps rise, I stepped back.

“…Huh?”

Damyu trembled when she saw him.

“V-Void-nim?”

“Hm? Ah, you must be the Keeper called Damyu.”

“…Tsk.”

This was bad.

The Upper Tier member who had come was none other than Void, the leader of the Crimson Circle.

“Ha, I was wondering where you’d been after defeating Dark Night…”

Saying that with a gentle smile, Void delivered a death sentence.

“I never imagined you were in the Empire.”

“Oh, fuck…”

A curse erupted from deep within my heart.

I didn’t expect it to end this quickly. Before I could do anything, it seemed everything had been discovered without exception.

Pushing the frightened Damyu behind me, I prepared for combat.

“Are you Void?”

“It’s a terrible name, but yes.”

Watching him stroke his chin as if contemplating something, I steeled myself.

If I fight, I die. And I can’t escape.

Then at the very least, I needed to gain something from this conversation.

“How did you find me?”

“No, you came to find me.”

“…What?”

“Sit down first.”

I don’t think I blinked.

A table and chairs simply appeared in midair.

“Don’t worry too much. Only Decay and I know about this, so the other members don’t know the details about you.”

“…”

“If you want to test your strength, I’ll be your opponent anytime. I’ve always been curious about what the Deep Sea, called the worst of The Three Evils, is like.”

After a brief staring contest— I sat down.

“U-Undercurrent-nim…”

“It’ll be fine.”

I reassured the worried Damyu and glared at him as he smiled with a pleased expression.

I couldn’t understand why Void, the head of their organization, was attempting to converse with me. Even if there was much I needed to learn from him, there should be nothing he needed to ask me.

As I sat across from him, Void shrugged.

“You look too anxious. You probably won’t believe me, but I have absolutely no intention of harming you.”

“That’s really reassuring.”

“If you can’t believe me, you’re free to leave.”

“…What?”

“I mean you can just go. I won’t stop you.”

I tried to determine if it was true, but even if I left, all that awaited was either getting stabbed in the back or just living with my identity exposed.

I shook my head and asked again.

“What do you want from me?”

“Hm, first I’d like you to understand. We’ve already decided to accept you into the Upper Tier.”

“Is it mandatory?”

“It’s not mandatory. As I said, you can refuse anytime you want.”

“Don’t play word games.”

I clicked my tongue in disbelief.

“If you know I came from the Empire, you must know who I work for.”

“Ah, do you mean the Priestess?”

“…Priestess?”

“I suppose you’d understand if I called her the Princess. It doesn’t matter. Even if you remain under her command and enter with different objectives, that’s fine. Lump doesn’t exactly agree with our purpose either, but he chose to join because he was interested in the process rather than the result.”

“The Princess wishes for your destruction.”

“I cannot stop others from working toward their desires. Act as you will.”

I was speechless watching Void speak so casually.

So what this man was saying was that he wanted to place a spy who had come to destroy their organization in an executive position.

I knew he wasn’t sane since he was the leader of these lunatics, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad.

Grasping my slightly dazed head, I voiced the question I most needed to ask.

“…For what purpose?”

“Hm?”

“Dark Night, Lump, Decay… I know that you had them invade the Empire, devour the underworld, kidnap and kill wizards, and commit all sorts of fucking atrocities. It was probably all on your orders.”

“Yes. It was all on my orders. And?”

I glared at Void as he spoke lightly and asked again.

“What is the reason for all of this? To follow some prophecy? Are you really committing these acts for such a childish purpose?”

If only I knew this.

If only I knew the true purpose behind the Crimson Circle following the prophecy, even dying here would mean I had gained something.

“It’s a simple matter.”

Void answered simply once again, as if it were obvious.

“To protect this world we live in. We’re making unavoidable sacrifices.”

…It seemed

the leader of the Crimson Circle had no talent for jokes.