Wizard of the Deep Sea

TL/ED – Miso

Honestly, I think everyone has some kind of fantasy about Elves.

I’m not particularly fond of fantasy novels, nor do I really enjoy watching anime.

Even so, the image of a noble and elegant race of tall men and women who love nature and guard forbidden knowledge had somehow become deeply ingrained in my mind.

Looking at Dersia only reinforced that perception. Though she was slightly off-mark, she still carried a sort of Elven aura.

Reality was devastating.

“This filthy one has long distorted the will of the World Tree, deceiving us and imprisoning us in ignorance!”

“That sin can only be repaid by splitting his belly and using him as fertilizer!”

“Burn him! Turn him into fertilizer!”

…

We could not find the words as we watched other Elves threateningly wave torches and hurl stones around the elderly Elf tied to a stake.

I approached Sedrak, who was throwing stones amidst the ferocious mob madness, and asked him.

“Excuse me, what exactly is going on here?”

“Ah, human visitor? That man was once our chieftain and shaman. But according to the command given by the World Tree, it’s clear he has deceived us all this time. He must be executed.”

“Was there a trial?”

“A trial? What is that?”

From Sedrak’s puzzled expression, I immediately understood that no legal system existed here.

Chieftain, shaman, execution ceremony.

I quietly closed my eyes and reestablished my perception.

I should’ve realized it from the shamanistic worship of a giant tree.

These guys, they’re just natives.

It seemed even the Empire didn’t recognize them as a proper nation, treating them more like a special autonomous region of indigenous people.

Well, if they were truly dangerous, there’s no way the Empire would allow them within its territory. Feeling my romantic illusions shatter, I looked at the so-called shaman tied to the wooden stake.

“You damn bastards! Did I not tell you that if you learn magic, you will surely fall to hell! Listen when I speak, listen!”

“Shut your mouth, Azrael! Then why is it that the World Tree is trying to make us into wizards?”

“It’s not the World Tree, it’s something else, you idiots!”

“Blasphemy against the sacred tree as well…!” 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

The shocked Sedrak clenched his teeth.

“This won’t do. Your filthy corpse won’t even be usable as fertilizer. We’ll just scatter it to the skies! Set the fire!”

“You moronic bastards!”

The elderly shaman with his white hair disheveled roared in fury, spitting as he shouted.

“You’re trying to kill me even though no one has succeeded the shamanic arts yet? Are you insane?”

“We’ll be learning magic now, so we don’t need shamanism anymore. Come on, set the fire!”

“Jern…”

Linmel tugged at my sleeve with an anxious expression.

Of course, I had no intention of just letting this happen. If Dersia is the one manipulating the World Tree, then this death is also her fault.

I couldn’t allow it. With a sigh, I stepped forward.

I glared at the flame touching the straw tied to the stake.

-Fizzle…

“Hm?”

An Elf, tilting his head as the fire went out, was handed another torch.

I acted before it could be repeated. I made all thirty-six torches in this space realize something at the exact same time.

In an instant, tendrils of smoke rose. The Elves murmured and looked around.

“W-what is this?”

“Is that bastard Azrael… using sorcery?”

“I don’t know, you dumbasses.”

Calling the Elves dumb was quite convenient in moments like this.

Just by standing a bit further away, I removed myself from suspicion.

I took all the torches around us with the current sense and crushed them mid-air into powder.

-Crack!

“What is this…”

Taking advantage of the Elves’ confusion, I used the powder to draw a small X mark above Azrael’s head.

The powder soon fell like rain.

“…?”

As the Elves still hadn’t grasped the situation, Ciel cleared her throat a few times and, with a surprised tone, informed them of what they needed to do.

“Oh, it seems the World Tree has delivered an oracle.”

“…Is that so! I see now, release Azrael! The World Tree desires his survival!”

“The shaman was innocent after all. I knew it all along!”

“Azrael, please forgive our ignorance!”

“…”

Azrael came down from the stake with a very sullen expression, supported by others.

The Elves didn’t look particularly sorry. Rather than acting like they’d done something wrong, it felt more like they were just going, “Oh, that just happened.”

Aren’t these guys seriously crazy? Maybe Dersia’s messed-up personality came from inheriting this kind of Elven temperament.

As I shook my head with a disgusted expression and tried to leave, suddenly a beetle flew over and landed on my ear.

“…?”

I was about to casually swat it away with a current.

Then, as if sensing it, the beetle sitting on my shoulder, spoke.

[Thanks for helping. Though I could have survived even without you.]

“…”

I immediately turned around.

The shaman called Azrael was brushing off the marks left by the ropes as he stared straight at me.

I confirmed it through current sense.

[Bzzzzzz-]

[Bzzzzz…]

“…”

All around the building, I could see there were hundreds, maybe thousands of beetles like this.

If they could speak, they could do other things too. Judging by his claim that he could have survived even without me, it didn’t seem like pure bluff.

Azrael continued watching me, sending words through the beetle.

[But thanks aside, I have to ask. With magic like that, you’d be able to control the World Tree easily. Don’t tell me it was you who incited these fools?]

I looked him straight in the eyes and scratched his back using current sense to form words.

[No. However, I have a rough idea of who and how someone may have done it.]

“…!”

Azrael’s expression stiffened slightly.

With that action, I not only conveyed my words but also showed him that I was perfectly capable of doing this much.

Even if he was confident, he wouldn’t be able to act recklessly.

The process of verifying each other’s capabilities was over. Thinking this might take a while, I initiated the conversation.

[We won’t be able to finish this kind of conversation like this. Please decide on a location.]

[…Come to the hut on the outskirts of the village without drawing attention. And don’t bring anyone else.]

[I do not want to do that. I think I have shown enough consideration by letting you choose the location.]

[It’s for your sake. Young Fallen.]

[Everyone already knows that much.]

[Do they also know you’re part of Crimson Circle?]

I frowned. What is he talking about?

[I’m not.]

[How absurd. Do you think something like a Great World occurs naturally?]

…This was news to me.

He’s different from the other Elves. Brimdal or Ciel wouldn’t be fooled by nonsense like this, but even if I had to play along a little, it seemed worth talking to him.

[I’m not, but fine. I’ll go.]

[Good. Come quickly.]

The beetle flew off again.

“I’ll be gone for a bit. Please look after Linmel.”

“You’d better be careful.”

Brimdal spoke with a slightly serious look.

“Elven shamans have always been dangerous beings. Incomparable to mere human wizards.”

It seemed he had picked up on the beetle’s words.

“In what way?”

“Magic is fair. You get what you put in. But shamanism, using crushed bugs, unknown blood, and strange symbols, they once killed a thousand Dwarves. If he tries something, don’t expect to judge it just by what you see.”

“I see. I’ll keep that in mind.”

It seemed a shaman was capable of far more than just controlling insects.

Of course, I wasn’t letting my guard down.

[How vast is this guy’s world…]

I had no intention of letting Azrael step outside the bounds of my current sense.

*

The hut Azrael had mentioned wasn’t a joke or modesty.

It was an actual hut. I had confirmed it through current sense, but still stared in disbelief at the structure made of cloth and tree branches before stepping inside.

The interior was even more absurd. Bones, crushed flowers, strange powders, snakes trapped in jars, insects too.

It wouldn’t be wrong to call it the dwelling of a lunatic.

He casually cleared space with his foot.

“Sorry for the shabby place.”

“Normally, I’d let that slide as a greeting, but this place really is shabby.”

“Tsk, such a rude brat. Shamans are supposed to live in places like this. If it’s too spacious, you can’t reach what you need in emergencies.”

With a sullen expression, Azrael took a puff from his short pipe and, half-lying down in front of his guest, asked,

“So, who was it that incited those idiots? As stupid as they are, anyone who can meddle with the World Tree would have to know all our secrets.”

“Let’s take turns asking one at a time. How did you come to such a ridiculous conclusion that I’m part of Crimson Circle?”

“Your world is clearly too vast. Far too vast.”

Azrael shook his pipe in disbelief.

“Do you know how the Abyss Realm is formed?”

“Yes, it’s when a wizard grows up seeing bad things from a young age, and their perception of the Material Realm becomes twisted, forming the Abyss Realm.”

“You’ve got a flimsy understanding. A Fall means that a wizard’s world undergoes inversion.”

“Inversion…?”

That was a term I’d never heard before.

“Yes. How should I explain this… hmm…”

Azrael gathered twigs, moss, and stones to create a miniature forest.

He had good hands; it looked quite convincing.

“Let’s say this is a wizard’s inner world.”

“Okay.”

“If I light a fire like this, what do you think will happen?”

As he struck a flint and ignited the leaves, the world instantly began to burn.

The moss didn’t catch due to its moisture, but the small forest was on the verge of being completely consumed in an instant.

Not sure what he was getting at, I shrugged and answered,

“It’ll burn up.”

“Be serious. This is your world, which means it’s you. You have to survive, so think of a way to put out the fire.”

“Um… maybe I could create water?”

“Water? How would you create that? Sure, I’m showing fire here, but it represents the kind of shock that shakes a wizard’s world. How do you insert an opposite shock? That’s nearly impossible.”

“I don’t get it. Then what can you use?”

“You have to use only what the world already possesses.”

I looked at the miniature forest.

All that remained now was a small flame.

“There’s nothing left but fire.”

“Exactly.”

Azrael calmly watched the burning forest, then threw in more firewood.

“The world inverts. If one is tormented by fire, then the world chooses to survive by becoming a world where only fire remains.”

The forest was no longer a forest. It was a small campfire.

As Azrael naturally began to boil water over the campfire, he added,

“A world of trees and forests becomes a furnace of flame to endure the fire. That is inversion, and the process through which a Fallen is born.”

“That sounds like wordplay. So what does that have to do with why the Great World can’t be formed?”

“…You really aren’t from Crimson Circle, are you? You don’t even know this.”

Azrael gave me a look of disbelief as he haphazardly tossed tea leaves into the pot.

“No matter how you flip the world through normal means, the Great World won’t emerge. Look, this inverted world, at best, all it can do is boil some tea leaves, right? A reversal without artificial stimuli won’t create a Great World. You have to create the worst possible scenario, torture the world, and only then, when it inverts, can the Great World be formed.”

“Aha…”

I nodded for a moment, then soon furrowed my brow.

“Then the current executives of Crimson Circle.”

“Exactly. Every one of them was created there. If you’re not from Crimson Circle, then just who created you?”

It was my turn to answer.

“But are you sure you want that to be your next question?”

“…You’re a nasty one. Just tell me who’s the one that controlled the World Tree.”

“Do you know Dersia Aspandil?”

“Dersia? Why bring her up?”

So he does know her.

“She is my master.”

Azrael blinked, then his jaw dropped.

“What? She took in a Fallen as her disciple??”

“Yes, a lot happened between us, but that’s how it ended up.”

“I see, but what does that have to do with controlling the World Tree and deceiving those idiot Elves? What’s she trying to do, turning them into wizards?”

“Maybe… she’s doing it for me. Though I’m not entirely sure.”

“Pfft- what are you talking about?”

At that, Azrael laughed in disbelief, slapping the ground.

“What the hell does that mean? Turning Elves into wizards for your sake, and then what…?”

Azrael, who had been laughing, slowly let the corners of his mouth fall as he saw my serious expression.

“No way.”

“This is a slight guess, though I’m not sure… Maybe she’s trying to make all the Elves Fall, to extract some kind of information for my sake.”

“That crazy bitch!”

He shot up, pulling at his hair and screaming.

“No, is she out of her mind? Selling out the entire future of the Elves for a single disciple?? I mean, I knew she wasn’t sane, but this much?”

“I told you, I’m not certain. There’s a bigger chance that it’s not the case.”

“Whether it’s for you, or whether she just found you interesting and wants to create other test subjects, it’s clear she’s trying to make them Fall. She’s completely insane. This can’t be ignored!”

“Please calm down. We don’t want something like that to happen either.”

I quietly lifted the tea leaves with current sense and poured them into Azrael’s cup.

Seeing that, Azrael calmed down slightly and picked up the teacup.

“…How old are you?”

“About eleven. I’m not exactly sure since I’m an orphan.”

“About that? Hah, you’re too mature for that age. Your ability to handle your world isn’t ordinary either. So that’s why you caught her eye…”

Azrael took a sip of the tea, then looked at me with displeasure.

“Tch, if only you hadn’t caught Dersia’s attention, none of this would’ve happened.”

“That’s not fair. If you want to talk about that, shouldn’t you first point out the cultural state of the Elves who worship a mere big tree as a god? In a proper society, if a tree starts talking, they’d think it’s a monster and cut it down, not accept it as delivering an oracle.”

“That was something even I couldn’t help.”

I took a sip of tea as well, then noticed something strange.

Not that I sensed poison in the tea. I hadn’t even drunk it properly, just pretended and pushed it back into the cup.

What was strange was Azrael’s words.

“You couldn’t help it? Are you saying you made them that way?”

“I’m this old, how old do you think I am? I’m the one who made those fools spend their lives worshipping that stupid tree, living primitively on wooden platforms and antagonizing humans.”

“…”

The very root of the destruction of my romantic fantasy was right here.

Should I kill him? Not because he shattered my fantasy, he just clearly seemed like a ridiculous villain.

Receiving my cold stare, Azrael snorted dismissively.

“Don’t criticize what you don’t understand. This is the way Elves are meant to live.”

“Do you understand how arrogant it is for a single individual to decide the fate of an entire race?”

“I do. It’s arrogance. Stupid, self-righteous, more dreadful than any dictator, something like that.”

…I was momentarily at a loss for words at his brazenly refreshing acknowledgment.

Taking advantage of that silence, Azrael began to defend himself.

“But you have to admit that a human’s perspective and an Elf’s are different. Our death and your death don’t hold the same weight.”

“What nonsense is that? The value of intelligent life is all the same.”

“I’m not trying to rank the superiority of species. In fact, if anything, I’m saying Elves are inferior.”

Azrael raised a finger. I hadn’t noticed before, but one joint was missing.

“This finger was cut off thousands of years ago. For humans, even if you lose an arm, you only live another 90 years or so. But we have to live for thousands of years missing an arm.”

“Then get a prosthetic.”

“It’s a metaphor, you brat. Even if we get wounded, fall ill, or are exposed to hostility, we experience those things over spans of thousands of years. The price of every action is just too high.”

Letting out a sigh, he brushed off his seat and stood up.

“The happiest life for an Elf is to know nothing, to live forever in this narrow space worshipping a tree as god, without progressing, valuing tradition. It took me a thousand years just to accept that fact. I don’t expect you to understand, nor do I want you to.”

“…”

“But we can cooperate. If that Dersia is controlling the World Tree, I have a sense of where and how she’s doing it.”

Azrael extended his old, wrinkled hand, missing a joint, with an expression of distaste.

“So what are you going to do? If you help, well, I could throw in a bit of extra compensation with my knowledge.”

“Let’s be honest. You can’t handle Master on your own, can you?”

“…That’s why I said I’d give you extra compensation.”

I looked at his bony hand with even more disdain.

The reason Azrael was trying to negotiate was simple. He couldn’t be sure he would survive if he directly opposed Dersia.

We, too, needed a guide in this isolated land of Elves, someone who could help us locate the World Tree, and more importantly, where Dersia was among it all.

And an Elf who had lived this long would certainly be capable of that role.

We needed each other. I was also curious about that “extra compensation.”

“Alright, let’s do that.”

“Good.”

After exchanging a dry handshake, Azrael began to feel around my body.

It was unpleasant.

“What are you doing?”

“Hmm…”

Azrael nodded to himself and said something strange.

“Do you perhaps have two Souls?”

“…What?”

“I’ve been sensing it since earlier, but now that I touch you, it’s certain. Why do you have two worlds? Can you explain that?”

Looking at the puzzled Azrael, I gathered my thoughts.

It seemed… he wasn’t a quack after all.