Wizard of the Deep Sea

TL/ED – Miso

If ordinary magic is about bringing phenomena of the Inner World into reality and painting over it,

Then Form: was about bringing in an “experience” and applying it to my body.

It had a similar yet different feeling from Remove:, which resisted things one had experienced.

“The normal way to use it is to create a painful experience, apply it to the body, and then reject it with Remove:. So, how would you use it in a combat situation?”

“I think I understand what you’re saying.”

As I listened to Dersia’s advice and took a deep breath, I heard footsteps entering the dirty alley.

“I’m sure he came in here.”

“Then why can’t we see him?”

“How the hell would I know… Found him!”

Three adult men.

They each had a blunt weapon hanging from their waist. From their sleazy vibe, it was obvious they were the type who played dangerously.

As soon as they saw us, they grinned and took a step closer.

One of them, a muscular bald man who looked far too much like a bandit, approached menacingly.

“Hey-”

“If you’re talking about money, we don’t have any.”

“…What?”

“My master came here with nothing but books. She’s flat broke. Judging by your line of work, you’re probably into robbery and murder. Do you do loan sharking on the side, too?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I meant to say I’d like to borrow some money.”

The thieves looked flustered as they stared into my calm eyes.

“What kind of brat talks like this?”

“…Well, whatever. Kid. That person behind you is your guardian, right?”

“Yes.”

“She’s an Elf, isn’t she? Then you don’t need to worry about money. Elf slaves fetch a good price.”

“I don’t think you should try taking my guardian.”

“Ah, don’t worry. Orphanage welfare is really great these days. Hahaha…”

As I looked at the laughing thieves, dumbfounded, I asked Dersia,

“Why is the security in this city like this? We haven’t even been here an hour.”

“Every city has a dark side, but the power of that dark side here is unusually strong. If they tried to suppress it carelessly, it could spark a civil war.”

“So that’s why you brought me here.”

As I nodded, the expressions of the blinking thieves changed, their smiles vanishing.

“…Wait, what are these bastards?”

“They’re way too calm…”

They’re quick to catch on.

Maybe because they’ve spent their whole lives harassing ordinary people, their instincts are sharp when it comes to sensing someone who isn’t ordinary.

Still, they had no intention of backing off from a pair that looked like an easy mark: an Elf slave and a child. They cautiously closed in, tightening their encirclement.

Well, it’s the correct decision. Running wouldn’t have helped anyway.

I activated Form: and took a step forward.

“You brought this on yourself, you bastard!”

The thief didn’t hold back at all. He pulled out his club and swung it.

He aimed directly at my head. I frowned and clenched my fist.

“Even so, isn’t this too much for a 10-year-old kid?”

“Urgh…!”

The club stopped completely about 20 centimeters above my head.

So did the thief. Frozen mid-swing in that dynamic pose, his face turned purple as he stopped breathing and started to swell up.

If not for the occasional trembling and spasms of pain, he might have looked like an actor performing a mime.

Using this level of water pressure, I wasn’t completely fine either. Even with the robe reducing the impact, my body stiffened and became immobile.

However, what I had to confirm before that was a specific sensation.

There was no pain.

Because I had overlaid a normal state over myself using Form:. Simply put, I overwrote the sensation of pain with an experience of being normal.

“J-Just, kill them!”

“Tch!”

The other thieves reacted quickly. As soon as their companion was taken down by something unknown, they immediately drew their weapons and charged.

-Bang!!

“Ugh-”

I pushed them away with a current, slamming their heads into the wall.

Normally this wouldn’t be possible. Because I wouldn’t be in my right mind from the burden of water pressure, I wouldn’t be able to pay attention to other things.

Only after confirming that he had passed out from current sense did I release the water pressure and murmur.

“This isn’t bad. No, it’s actually really good.”

Just the fact that I couldn’t feel pain dramatically expanded what I could do.

For example, while circulating water pressure, I could perform other tasks using currents, or use current sense to assess the situation.

Normally, it would require an incredible amount of concentration, something impossible to do under pressure.

Dersia replied with a slightly ambiguous expression.

“It does look a bit dangerous.”

“What… huh?”

As I muttered while checking my hand, I blinked upon seeing that my body had turned a dark blue-black color.

“…What is this?”

“Try releasing it.”

The moment I deactivated Form:, just as she said.

A pain that felt like my body was about to shatter came crashing down on me.

“Urgh…”

I frowned and leaned against the wall to soothe the pain. It felt as if my entire skeleton was being crushed.

As I was doing that, Dersia explained.

“You simply aren’t feeling the pain. The burden itself still remains on your body, so instead, it seems to be producing the opposite effect. That kind of usage should be avoided.”

“You told me to try it…”

“I didn’t expect it to be this severe. You could die while using it, so unless it’s truly an emergency, Form: is best used only as a training tool.”

Dersia shrugged as she said that, then snapped her fingers to wake one of the unconscious thieves.

“Wake up.”

“Kyaaaah!!”

…Her method of waking him up was, by the way, twisting his muscles.

Watching the thief’s calf muscles violently distort midair, I felt a chill run down my spine.

It was probably a variation of Form: rupture. Maybe because I’d experienced it myself, I couldn’t help but empathize. That was definitely in the realm of torture.

The thief clutched his calf, writhing in pain. When he saw Dersia lift her robe’s hood, he wore a puzzled expression.

“Wh-Who… who are you?” 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

“Your situational awareness is slow. If you answer my questions, I’ll let you live.”

“…Elf… Wizard… De-Dersia! Dersia Aspandil! The 9-Star Wizard!”

As the thief mulled it over, his face turned to shock.

Apparently, Dersia’s name was well known, even to someone who lived in this rotten city.

I didn’t know it, though.

“Why on earth are you here-?!”

“I don’t understand why the one being questioned thinks he’s the one asking.”

As Dersia sighed, the thief’s calf began to twist again.

“GYAAAAAAAH!!”

“I’ll ask just three things. Are you a member of Lips?”

“No! No no no no!!”

“Do you know anyone who is?”

“Yes! O-Our boss! He’s a member!!”

“Take us to him.”

The last statement wasn’t even a question, but the thief didn’t seem to have the guts to protest.

We handed over the unconscious thugs to the guards and forcibly dragged along the trembling thief who had tried to go in himself. Eventually, we arrived at an expensive-looking mansion where the so-called boss was staying.

Only then did I ask,

“What is Lips?”

“They’re an organization the Crimson Circle would’ve definitely contacted. Not just in this city, but a bunch of creepy people hiding in nearly every underworld. If they wanted to match their numbers, they’d have targeted them first.”

“I see. So what are you going to do?”

“Extract information.”

Dersia blinked, and her face changed.

To be precise, her ears shrank, her skin regained color, and the dark circles under her eyes lightened overall. Just with that, she transformed from a sharp-tongued Elf to an elegant and noble beauty.

I was speechless.

“This should be enough to keep my identity hidden.”

“Put on a hood too.”

“I already changed my face.”

“…That’ll just attract more attention.”

“…?”

Looking confused, Dersia donned the hood and walked toward the front gate.

Naturally, the guards approached.

“Halt. This is-”

The words couldn’t be finished. He passed out mid-sentence and hit his head on the floor.

Dersia, as if nothing had happened, flung the door open, went up to the fifth floor, and shattered the door there.

“…Huh, wh-what is this?”

Inside was a fat, middle-aged man busily polishing a golden calf statue on his desk.

He stared blankly at the ten-year-old boy and the tall woman in a robe, then turned red in the face with fury.

“Who the hell are you bastards?! Guards, guards!!”

“They’re all off duty.”

“…Tch, I don’t know who you are, but you picked the wrong place to break into. Black Hounds, it’s time to work!”

The man pulled a string next to him. Then, assassins in black masks leapt out from behind the surrounding curtains.

All of them, unconscious.

“…? Black Hounds?”

The assassins rolling around on the floor were all foaming at the mouth without exception.

The man’s face gradually twisted in horror as he watched.

“Wh-Who are you?”

“I’ll ask first. Do you know the Crimson Circle?”

At those words, his face turned pale this time, and he tightly shut his mouth and shook his head.

“I don’t! Truly, not at all!”

“Hm, this is going to be troublesome.”

As Dersia raised her finger, I stepped forward.

“You made a good choice. If you’d just said you did, I would’ve killed you.”

“…What?”

Taking advantage of his moment of confusion, I shoved him with a current, slamming him against the wall.

Thud!

“Ugh…!”

“But you’d better choose your next answers carefully. Why did you betray us?”

“Wa-wait… Hold on…”

I released the current. The man looked at me, and as if realizing something, nodded slowly.

“That magic… at your age… You’re from the Crimson Circle, aren’t you? But what are you talking about! I haven’t betrayed anyone, not even a little!”

“…”

“…”

Dersia and I briefly exchanged a glance.

Her look said, Go on, so I took a step forward and pressed.

“You didn’t betray us? That’s strange. Then why was our plan leaked?”

“Ah, are you talking about Azelin?”

“…Yes, that place. The knights have spread out. If your people didn’t snitch, that wouldn’t have happened.”

“What in the world are you talking about?”

The man shook his head, baffled.

“You were the one who boasted that even a thousand knights wouldn’t be a problem! W-We did everything we were supposed to. We gave you all the seawater and ice you wanted!”

“Master.”

“Yes. We don’t need any more. Either close your eyes or leave the room.”

“Are you going to kill him?”

“Considering a mansion in the underworld is so openly located in plain sight, it means he’s paid off every possible official. If he’s a lower member, maybe not, but someone like him will be released as soon as he’s caught. Does that displease you?”

“No. I think the same.”

“Then please wait outside.”

“I don’t particularly mind, but-”

“You’re still at an age where anything can be put into your Inner World. I doubt you’d want to see corpses floating in the Deep Sea.”

“Ah, yes.”

I left the man, who still wore a confused expression, and Dersia behind.

It didn’t even take ten seconds for Dersia to come out after me. She looked quite satisfied.

“That was a good improvisation. He was someone who knew speaking meant death. He wouldn’t have opened his mouth unless he truly wished to die. Thanks to that, we saved a lot of time.”

“…Though the situation itself isn’t exactly good.”

“Why is that?”

I looked uncomfortably at the room where the man’s corpse would be and answered.

“Well, my student, Elysia, chose Azelin as her vacation spot. I’m not really sure where that is, though.”

“It’s a castle that’s widely praised for its beauty. They say there’s a lovely river and flowers that only bloom there.”

“Have you been?”

“Yes. I didn’t see the river or flowers, so I can’t comment, but the library only had 500 books, all of which I had already read. From my perspective, it’s a place I never want to visit again.”

It was a very Dersia-like evaluation.

I asked, feeling a slight sense of urgency rising within me.

“We’re not too late, are we?”

“It’s only been two days. I don’t think they could’ve taken over the city in that time, so if we move a bit quickly, there shouldn’t be any major issues. Don’t worry.”

“…Yes.”

I pushed down my anxiety with Dersia’s words.

Watching me, Dersia let out a small laugh.

“How strange.”

“Sorry?”

“It’s strange that you, Jern, are worried about someone else. Who’s worrying about whom right now? No matter what situation that child is in, even if she’s dead, she’s probably still in a better position than you.”

“I sometimes think you’re severely lacking in empathy, Master.”

“It’s an undeniable fact. But I thought you had a disposition very similar to mine.”

“…You’re mistaken. I’m a normal person who can feel anxious and sad when someone I know is in danger.”

“Don’t you see that as a flaw?”

“Not at all. Especially since I know exactly what happens to people who thought that way, that’s how they ended as Crimson Circle.”

“Hmm.”

Dersia looked at me like she found me amusing, then opened the door.

Beyond it was a hill blanketed in dazzlingly beautiful red and white flowers. As I stood entranced by the mesmerizing scene, like a moving painting bathed in the evening glow, she spoke.

“Then, while we’re at it recovering the book, let’s rescue your student too.”

There was no conviction in Dersia’s tone, only boredom.

As if it were something bound to happen, something inevitable.

Following her dependable back through the door, we found ourselves in front of a small hut. Before it were flower-covered hills, and beyond them, thin trails of smoke rising in the distance.

“Looks like it’s dinner time.”

“Do you have a plan?”

“We’ll borrow the power of the Black Magic Tower, issue an emergency alert across the city, evacuate all the nobles, and then face the Crimson Circle. As long as the preparations are in place, whatever they try to do, we’ll be able to respond to it all.”

“That’s reassuring. But-”

As we climbed the softly rustling, flower-filled hill and looked around, I could see why this place was a popular retreat for nobles.

The variety of colorful flowers blooming all around was, at least among the landscapes I’d seen in this world, the most beautiful.

“…This is…”

But there were a few things that seemed off.

Like footprints, neither human nor animal, that had passed through.

And if you looked closely, you could see bloodstained armor, completely out of place, hidden among the flowers.

–And finally, the smoke. It was a bit- no, far too thick.

“…Master.”

“I saw it too. If it’s part of a festival… that would be ideal.”

Dersia, who had quickly climbed the hill ahead of me, looked down and spoke as if it were nothing serious.

“Jern.”

“Ah, yes. Is it a festival?”

“No.”

I arrived and looked down at the city.

The city that entered my view at a glance.

Was a scene of total chaos, filled with collapsed buildings, people screaming and fleeing, and grotesque, squirming monsters.

Dersia replied in her usual calm tone.

“It seems the Crimson Circle moved much faster than we expected.”