Wizard of the Deep Sea

TL/ED – Miso

“You can cross between worlds.”

“Yes.”

Void acknowledged it with a nod.

Connecting the world of the Fallen to the world of reality.

That wasn’t something that could be taken lightly. Perhaps sensing the need for explanation, Void continued.

“I know your world is the depths of a dark, abyssal sea. That alone is your world, and no other description holds any meaning. To you, living in those depths, telling you that the world isn’t submerged and that you can breathe freely anytime would be nothing but nonsense…”

He gazed down at the Deep Sea Creature, which was gradually swelling.

“But I alone can understand. Even if the entire world dismisses you as insane, a madman—I can be your one true understanding companion.”

“Now I understand.”

I slowly nodded in comprehension.

Why this man was the leader of the Crimson Circle, and why the Fallen flocked to them.

To prisoners eternally confined in an inescapable prison, Void must seem like a guard holding the keys.

But it was laughable.

“Let me say this first—I have no particular desire to be understood.”

“Hmm?”

“If you could have extracted all the Fallen that way from the start, you would have done so long ago. You can only move yourself, can’t you?”

Void smiled silently again.

If I were wrong, he would have denied it. As expected, his power wasn’t omnipotent.

I stroked my chin and continued my reasoning.

“That said, considering you pulled out the Deep Sea Creature and overlaid the worlds… you moving alone seems nearly impossible, so the method you use must be a passage.”

“…Oh?”

“You can create passages to travel back and forth. That would explain how you went from the plains to here in an instant. Your power isn’t about crossing worlds per se, but rather creating passages from any point to any other point, and…”

I observed as Void’s eyes gradually widened, then noticed his hands were clasped behind his back.

“May I see your hand?”

“Heh…”

That request must have hit the mark.

Letting out a contemplative sound for the third time, Void smiled bitterly and showed his left hand.

“Now I understand why the Priestess chose you.”

His ring finger was bleeding, its entire first joint severed clean off.

My suspicion became certainty. I shook my head, feeling more shock than satisfaction.

“—Equivalent exchange.”

“Moving from one place to another within the same world demands no price, but to travel from one world to another and bring something back—I must show sincerity first.”

…Pop!

At that moment, the Deep Sea Creature suddenly exploded, splattering foul-smelling chunks of flesh.

I furrowed my brow. It seemed unable to withstand the drastic pressure difference.

“Even bringing a mere creature like this costs a finger. To move a Fallen—the master of a world and object of its hatred—would be impossible even if I staked my very life.”

“…You.”

“Hm?”

“What did you put in?”

If it was Equivalent Exchange, something didn’t add up.

Right now, Void had literally brought the world’s Burden and blanketed the real world with it.

Somewhere in the Empire at this very moment, people were suffering and dying from that Burden.

If pulling out a single Deep Sea Creature cost him a finger, then what was the price for bringing in the Burden?

If his entire body wasn’t even enough to extract a single person, then literally offering everything wouldn’t be enough.

Void had put something into that shadow world.

…Until the world was satisfied.

“You’re curious how I summoned the Dark Veil, I see.”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you that.”

“…”

Wait, after rambling on about everything else?

When I frowned in disbelief, Void sighed as if it couldn’t be helped.

“If you found out, I’m afraid you’d immediately decide to defect from the group I just brought you into. Honestly, I never imagined you’d figure out this much just from learning I could cross between worlds.”

He shrugged and looked down at me with a satisfied expression.

“But yes, now I understand why the Priestess chose you as the spear to kill us, and why the Three Evils dwell within you. Having you with us would be truly reassuring.”

“What are you going to make me do?”

I asked tensely. Void would surely demand something of me.

To keep me in the Crimson Circle, to ensure I couldn’t return.

“As I said, you don’t have to do anything.”

He spread his arms while saying something utterly unbelievable.

“Rather, my conviction only grows stronger. Do as you wish here—kill us, stop our plan, work to fulfill the Priestess’s will. At the very least, I won’t stand in your way.”

“…”

“You look like you don’t understand why.”

Walking to the edge of the Spire, he spoke while still smiling.

“You won’t believe my words. No matter what I say, you’ll dismiss it as nonsense and retreat. Aren’t you doing that even now?”

“So you are aware of it.”

“So act on your own. Trust only the truths you discover with your own eyes and intuition, consider everything else lies, and piece together the puzzle.”

He smiled at me for a moment—and then, in the next instant, vanished.

But his voice lingered behind.

“At the end of that path, you will join us.”

I immediately pushed my Current Sense to its limits.

“…Ugh.”

But my head only swam, and I couldn’t find even a trace of him.

The part about opening passages seemed to be true. At the very least, he was no longer here.

I stared at the Deep Sea Creature’s corpse, now crushed into pulp, for a moment before muttering to myself and heading inside the Spire.

“He’s badly mistaken…”

I understood what he was trying to say.

Apparently, Void believed that if I uncovered the truth myself and discovered the hidden truth, I would be genuinely moved and join the Crimson Circle.

Unfortunately for them, that would never happen.

Because—

“Let’s wreck their plan.”

Frankly speaking.

I didn’t care what the truth was.

***

Void left without saying much else.

There was no inauguration ceremony or anything of the sort, but I could assume I’d received the status of Upper Tier along with freedom of movement.

My objective was simple.

‘Stop it and kill them.’

I needed to halt the spread of this Dark Veil as soon as possible.

At the same time, it would be good if I could kill the Upper Tier. Even if I couldn’t kill them, finding weaknesses that could be exploited would be enough.

I had one chance right now.

“First…”

I drew in a breath and slowly extended my Current Sense from the top floor of the Spire.

The place was insanely tall, but after being honed multiple times, my Current Sense had reached a level capable of covering the entire Spire.

Enduring a slight headache, I swept through every room in the Spire as if licking it clean.

They were all empty rooms. Though strictly speaking, they weren’t completely empty.

“…?”

Unable to believe what my Current Sense showed me, I opened the rooms one by one.

One room was filled with books, another with swords and shields, or things like armor.

The common thread was that everything was extremely old and weathered, on the verge of crumbling.

The passage of time evident in the lived-in feel made me tilt my head. I picked up a crumbling book and was startled when I opened it.

Most of the content was written in an archaic language too difficult to read with my level of education, but there was a common thread.

“These are hundreds of years old?”

Judging by the flow and the dates recorded in the books.

Most pointed to a single era from several centuries ago.

Only after checking bags, foodstuffs, and various other items could I reach a conclusion.

“Was this place like a hotel?”

This tall Spire seemed to have once served as a hotel where numerous guests stayed.

The significant detail was that while the belongings remained, the people had suddenly vanished and the place had lain dormant for centuries.

But it wasn’t a fact worth dwelling on. What mattered now was how many Upper Tier members were currently in this Spire.

“…None.”

I frowned.

I didn’t know what Void wanted me to discover here, but there were only three living beings remaining in this Spire.

Me, Damyu, and that woman called Cheon-hwa.

She had been standing before the bonfire on the first floor the entire time.

The way she watched the flames without moving was slightly unsettling, but…

For now, she was the only Upper Tier member I could make contact with.

After confirming that Damyu was exploring the rooms and that there seemed to be no particular issues, I sighed and headed for the first floor.

“…”

The moment she heard my approach, Cheon-hwa turned to look.

She really did look exactly like Sharmia. Suppressing my displeasure, I spoke to her.

“Nice to meet… you. Cheon-hwa.”

“Why have you come again? I told you not to show your face.”

But her personality was the opposite.

Sighing inwardly at her cold demeanor, I asked.

“Void left me here and departed. But he gave me no instructions whatsoever. If there’s something I should be doing, I’d like to carry it out.”

I didn’t believe Void’s words at face value, but it seemed likely Cheon-hwa didn’t know my true identity.

Adopting the behavior of a Fallen who had suddenly joined the Upper Tier—at least pretending to act that way—would probably be better for my safety.

At my question, her expression twisted in a peculiar way.

“What were you doing before you came here?”

“…Pardon?”

“I can give you tasks to do. But that depends on what you were doing before. Tell me what you’ve been doing until now.”

“I lived an ordinary life. Born in an orphanage, fell, and somehow ended up here.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

Cheon-hwa scoffed as if in disbelief.

“You seem to have no idea what the Three Evils really are.”

“Yes, I don’t.”

“…”

“This is my first time becoming Upper Tier, so how would I know anything? I’d appreciate an explanation.”

When I pushed back shamelessly, Cheon-hwa narrowed her brow and explained in an irritated tone, as if unsure whether to be angry or not.

“Worlds where life can exist are called the Three Evils. But what do you think makes the Three Evils different from other worlds, allowing life to exist?”

“I don’t know.”

“Size.”

Cheon-hwa stated definitively.

“Because they are purely massive—because they possess size capable of birthing life—the Three Evils can nurture the beings living within them.”

“I see.”

“And someone with such a world claims to be an ordinary orphan who grew up in an orphanage?”

She glared at me.

“I’m not in the mood to entertain jokes, so speak seriously. What were you doing and where did you come from?”

“…Is that so.”

If that’s how it was.

Nodding, I answered casually.

“Actually, I grew up in the ocean.”

“…What?”

“My mother gave birth to me on a boat and apparently disposed of me by throwing me into the sea. Somehow I survived and eventually fell like this.”

“…”

“Is that sufficient?”

Cheon-hwa’s gaze changed.

More precisely, she looked at me as if seeing some kind of monster.