Wizard of the Abyss - Chapter 240

Chapter 240: Depth (7)

TL/ED – Miso

After rising back up from the floor of the Deep Sea, I went to find the broken monster.

It was still running things through its own hand, letting red blood flow into the Deep Sea.

With a vacant face that looked completely out of its mind.

“Hey, I’ve got something I want to ask.”

[…]

Now it wouldn’t even communicate. Sighing, I simply used Water Pressure to shatter the rock outright.

– Crack! Small fragments of stone scattered through the Deep Sea along with a fine dust. Only then did it react, wearing an indescribable expression as it spat out a curse.

[Stop interfering and get lost.]

“I won’t interfere. Just tell me what’s below that Middle Layer thing.”

[…]

It fell silent again and stared at me. More than simple irritation, there was a trace of surprise mixed into that silence.

[If you’re talking like that, you must have seen the Middle Layer.]

“Yeah. Not the Ruler of the Middle Layer, just the Middle Layer itself.”

[That’s not a space you should have been able to endure. You managed to survive somehow.]

So that’s it. The explanation had seemed oddly vague.

It seemed the thing had been hoping I’d die while trying to break through the floor. I nearly cuffed it on the head, but reminded myself that from its perspective I was nothing more than a deeply annoying, unwanted guest, and I softened my tone as much as I could before asking.

“Since when have those things even existed?”

Those weren’t life-forms of the Deep Sea. They were locations.

In apartment terms, it was the equivalent of the second basement level gaining a consciousness and moving around on its own. Naturally, I couldn’t accept that they existed at all, let alone understand how they existed.

Instead of speaking, it sighed and raised its hand.

[Have you never, at some point, felt the urge?]

“…The urge?”

[A path other than death, to escape all of this. To become one with the flow of this hell and go on living.]

“Ah, Assimilation? I know about that. I’ve experienced it too.”

Come to think of it. I hadn’t felt it in a while, but that kind of Burden did exist.

Overusing the ability too much brought on a sensation of merging with the Deep Sea, the body slowly dissolving into it.

I nodded, then suddenly realized something strange and asked back.

“Wait, you know about Assimilation? Then that means you can die.”

If this monster wished to become one with the seawater itself, that would be death.

It would be the complete erasure of the self. But it shook its head in denial.

[That’s a trap. If I were to undergo Assimilation, the self does not disappear; it becomes subordinate to the Middle Layer and is used as part of their current. That is not the end I want.]

“…So there’s no easy way out.”

So even back then, adapting to Assimilation meant becoming a slave to those things.

As I frowned, it continued.

[However, if one who is too much for the Deep Sea to digest undergoes Assimilation and settles as sediment, that matter takes on a density different from ordinary seawater. The self, the abilities, mingle together and sink to the bottom. Those deposits gradually accumulate, and eventually a moment comes when countless selves mix together and manifest, when an overwhelming quantity piles up in a single location.]

“Hmm. I don’t get it.”

[…When dissolved corpses pile up and pile up, a Conglomerate that possesses all of them is resurrected. That is the Middle Layer.]

“Aha.”

The monstrous beings that died in the Deep Sea, that is, the Deep Sea Creatures that had awakened a self, mostly met their end through Assimilation.

However, the seawater of those merged Deep Sea Creatures was heavy. That was why it sank to the bottom and accumulated, forming a region different from ordinary seawater.

The place where that sediment gathered, that was,

“So that’s what the Middle Layer is.”

It really could be called a location that possessed a self.

As I slowly nodded, the monster, as if it had said all it had to say, rolled another stone back with the current and blocked the entrance.

[Now go. Whatever it is you want, do not interfere with my journey toward rest…]

“Ah… the thing is, I’d like to, but.”

– Grrrch!

When I dragged the stone back out, the tentacle-eyebrows above its eyes shot up violently.

[If you truly wish to die and to kill, there is nothing that cannot be done.]

“Hear me out. No matter what, I have to go below the Middle Layer.”

The Middle Layer, in the end, was the middle layer. In other words, it was a point I had to pass through to reach my goal.

I couldn’t stop at a place like that. Looking at the monster’s puzzled expression, I raised a hand.

“But I’m really, really weak. I have no way to defeat things like the Middle Layer. I mean it.”

[…That’s.]

It seemed about to say something, but after looking me up and down, the monster spoke as if finding me bizarre.

[I truly do not know what you have swallowed. You are so terribly incomplete. And yet the way you handle the current is similar to my own…]

“So, I wanted to ask about a few methods. If you help me, I’ll help you reach your goal.”

[Ha.]

But at those words, it let out a scornful snort.

[You really are out of your mind. Do you think you could cross the Middle Layer? If you were to go inside, they would merely take you as a means to add to their own weight.]

“…Weight? Why would they do that?”

[The same as me. To sink deeper.]

I didn’t know what it meant, but it wasn’t saying that negotiation would work.

Still, I had a surefire way to persuade it.

“Hear me out to the end. Honestly, I’m not a dumb Deep Sea Creature like the rest of you.”

[…What?]

“I wasn’t born in this place. I can’t promise you other wishes, but an ending, that I can definitely give you. When I leave this place, I just need to take your body with me.”

[What are you saying…]

“For now, come in.”

I stepped into the cave.

Then I rolled another stone over and sealed the entrance. So that nothing could get out.

Inside the completely dark cave. Both it and I could perceive each other through Current Sense, but so that it could confirm with its own eyes, I lit a flame on the tip of my finger.

A flame danced inside the water, creating a source of light. Seeing it, the antennae above the thing’s head trembled faintly.

[This, what in the…]

“Too early to be surprised.”

I lightly formed a Water Pressure blade and nicked my finger a little.

“Ngh.”

A single light drop of blood welled up. Frowning slightly, I let it disperse into the Deep Sea.

The Blood Scent spread through the cave.

A scent so potent that even my own head grew dizzy.

[…!!!]

The reaction was dramatic.

The monster’s already massive eyes dilated to the point they seemed about to fall out, and its gills flared as if to confirm once more what it was sensing.

It didn’t stop there. Like those of a carnivorous beast, teeth as long as a handspan slowly began to erupt from its gums.

It had never looked human to begin with, but now it was even less so. I waved my hand and gathered up every strand of current that still carried the Blood Scent.

“Guess I should stop about here.”

[Uh, ugh…!]

It was clearly different from other Deep Sea Creatures. Somehow it managed to restrain itself, though it writhed in agony.

The exposure couldn’t have lasted more than a few minutes, yet its reaction was like someone who had inhaled poison gas for hours. I watched it roll about, retching onto the ground, and after more than thirty minutes of this I asked in disbelief.

“I’m genuinely curious, is it really that bad?”

[You, you…]

Only then, able to speak again, it looked up at me with bloodshot eyes.

[You are the root of it all.]

“What?”

[You. You are the source of all of this. The one who created this hell. A fragment of flesh left behind by the Ruler who dwells in the deepest place!]

“What kind of nonsense is that now.”

As I listened calmly with my arms crossed, the monster became gravely serious all on its own, clutching its head and falling into thought.

[Th, then. The Prophecy… the Prophecy is to be fulfilled like this? That’s, that’s… wretched.]

“You okay?”

[I, I’m fine. What were we talking about.]

“I’m a different kind of being from Deep Sea Creatures like you.”

With the thing having regained some of its composure, I began persuading it again.

“If you help me get below the Middle Layer, I’ll kill you for sure. It’s simple. Once I return to the deep layer, I can exit to reality. Then I’ll just kill you, take you with me, and burn you.”

[…Really?]

“Yeah. You said it yourself. Called me some piece of flesh.”

[That’s…]

Trailing off, the monster frowned as if finding it all absurd.

[You have no idea what kind of being you are.]

“What am I, then?”

[Can you hear it?]

It answered my question with a question.

From the way it tapped its ear, it really did seem to be talking about hearing. I focused my attention on my ears for a moment.

The quiet sounds of the Deep Sea reached me. The sound of flowing water. The sound of rising bubbles.

That is.

“What? I don’t hear anything.”

When I shrugged and answered, it let out a sigh and bowed its head low.

[…Perhaps you haven’t been in this hell very long.]

“No, it’s been longer than you’d think…”

[You only think so. In the end, it’s a matter of time. You will hear it soon enough… and when that time comes, you’ll understand without explanation.]

After answering as it pleased, it rose awkwardly to its feet and looked at me with eyes holding an indescribable emotion.

[I will help you.]

“What?”

[Whatever you intend to do, I will help. Only keep your promise. Kill me, end my life in this Deep Sea. If you keep that alone, I will do anything. I will follow whatever you tell me.]

“Uh, um…”

I was a little thrown off by the sudden shift in attitude.

My original plan had been to show that I wasn’t an ordinary Deep Sea Creature, and if things went wrong, just kill it and feed it to one of the other Deep Sea Creatures I had bound with threads.

That way, even if it awakened a self, it would still be under my control since I was already dominating it.

Well, the things it had said were a bit unsettling, but those were things I’d naturally come to understand as I descended. What mattered was securing its cooperation, so I extended my hand.

“Right, I’m counting on you.”

[…]

It stared strangely at my outstretched hand.

[What am I supposed to do?]

“Grab it.”

The monster, looking as though it didn’t particularly want to, clasped my hand and shook it a few times.

[What next?]

“Don’t resist.”

[?]

As the monster wore a strange expression, the ring made of thread began to wrap itself around its hand.

Its expression started to twist into something extremely grotesque.

[This is…]

“I appreciate the help, but honestly, it’s hard to fully trust you.”

[…]

Only once it was completely bound by the threads, that is, placed entirely under my control, was I able to release its hand.

It wasn’t a particularly pleasant feeling, but right now I couldn’t afford to be a master kind enough to consider a slave’s feelings.

[So. What is it you want to do?]

When he asked cautiously with a slightly softened expression, I finally told him the plan I’d prepared in advance.

“Do you know where the other Deep Sea Creatures with selves are located? Besides you?”

[…? I do know.]

“Let’s start by killing all of them.”

[…]

Just once.

The plan was to let it do what it wanted to do, and in doing so, clear out an empty spot.

*****

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