Wizard of the Abyss - Chapter 249

Chapter 249: Depth (16)

TL/ED – Miso

Looking at what was unmistakably the leg of an Outer God.

I came to a conclusion without a sliver of hesitation.

“Should I run.”

Trial or no trial, if an Outer God descended here, I would die.

This was not an opponent I could handle with a few measly Jellyfish and Flying Fish. Even if there were a hundred of me, I’d be killed in an instant.

I couldn’t take on an Outer God yet. As I sighed at that thought.

I noticed something strange about the leg that had fallen.

“…?”

Something- was different from what I knew.

That is to say, it wasn’t completely different. It was definitely a piece of that Octopus Outer God that had pursued me so relentlessly. After all I’d suffered, there was no way I’d mistake it.

But this one was smaller than the one that had chased me, and its color was a darker red. Unlike before, when it had felt utterly lifeless, more like a moving corpse than a living creature.

To put it simply, I couldn’t sense the weight of years on it.

‘Is it a different specimen?’

Thinking about it normally, same species, different individual, but the thing called an Outer God isn’t just labeled a god for nothing, and there couldn’t possibly be two of them.

The same, yet different. As I studied the leg intently, picking apart that sense of wrongness, a single possibility flashed through my mind.

‘Maybe.’

After thinking for a moment, I crushed every Deep Sea Creature I’d created with my own hands.

-Crackle! In an instant the Deep Sea grew quiet, and the Water Pressure returned to normal.

I had returned to the first stage of the trial.

The next sequence of events was the same. Once again I used the Sea Water to create a hundred Flying Fish, and the same Lizard I’d seen at the very beginning came sinking down.

This time I waited until the Lizard was dead, then tore its body apart.

“Let’s see…”

I fed the remains to the Flying Fish I had created.

They were so cautious that they wouldn’t even approach a corpse, so they tried hard not to eat it. But when I forced their mouths open and shoved the flesh in, they had no choice but to swallow.

The bodies of the Flying Fish that had eaten the Lizard gradually began to twist and change.

Some grew scales on their wings, and some sprouted hideous forelimbs.

It was a sight far too familiar. The Deep Sea Creatures I’d seen all this time in the Deep Sea were generally shaped exactly like this.

“So that’s how they were made.”

I nodded, watching the Flying Fish, feeling my doubts dissolve.

Deep Sea Creatures didn’t just stop at being grotesquely shaped. They had things like long tentacles or tens of thousands of eyes, traits they could never possibly acquire just by devouring each other.

That had to be the result of eating land creatures that had fallen from above, just like what had happened a moment ago. Over an enormously long stretch of time.

And the “above” I was talking about wasn’t the continent where humans lived-

‘Probably the Primordial Worlds that Void wants to restore.’

Mere cattle or horses couldn’t yield such grotesque forms and powers.

A wild world where Outer Gods lived as a matter of course, where pain wasn’t even named pain. A place that ought to be called hell.

The picture came together: creatures from that world, the one The First Wizard supposedly tidied up, would occasionally fall into the Deep Sea, and the Deep Sea Creatures would eat them and become the monsters they were now.

Of course, I couldn’t be certain. The fact that these Flying Fish would rather die than eat unless I shoved the flesh into their mouths and chewed it for them suggested as much. It was nothing more than speculation.

It didn’t really matter. What mattered was the fact I could deduce from this.

‘This isn’t just the Deep Sea, it’s the Primordial Deep Sea.’

I’d already known this was some kind of testing ground from the way the same Lizard kept being generated infinitely.

But I hadn’t realized it was the past. What let me confirm it was the fact that those land creatures could no longer fall in.

Because that punk called The First Wizard had cleaned up the Primordial Worlds.

Nothing more could fall into the Deep Sea, which was now bound to me as an individual.

So the conclusion was inevitable. This place was set in the past, back when the Primordial Worlds and the Deep Sea were still connected.

If this past kept progressing, an Outer God would fall.

An Outer God that, having fallen into the Deep Sea, would never be able to escape again.

And the Outer God about to fall was obviously not in a normal state. Just from the leg being severed, I could tell it had taken some major wound.

A past Outer God in an abnormal state.

Could I beat it?

‘Absolutely not.’

I sank into thought again, exasperated.

No matter how weakened it was, this Qualification Test was about fighting and defeating an Outer God?

I didn’t know who’d set up this scenario, but it was absurd. An Outer God weakened to a level I could beat couldn’t even be called a divine being anymore.

Was that really it? Defeat the Outer God, and they’d send me to where the Outer Gods were?

Something seemed to be missing.

“?”

Someone poked me in the back as I was deliberating.

It was one of the Flying Fish that had eaten the Lizard’s flesh. As if it knew I was its master, it was prodding my back with its claws.

As I gently pushed the Flying Fish away, something flashed in my mind.

‘…don’t tell me.’

Another condition of the trial. The ability to bring forth life.

Without giving life to a Deep Sea Creature, I couldn’t proceed.

This was, of course, a useless ability. The power to infinitely generate newborn babies might certainly resemble a divine miracle, but set against a task like beating a martial arts champion, it became utterly worthless.

But what would a martial arts champion think, watching newborn babies being yanked endlessly out of someone’s left hand?

What if it wasn’t a martial arts champion, but an Outer God?

The deliberation went on for a while.

Until I realized I had no other way of getting out of this place.

***

Having made my decision, I created life.

Over and over, even after the Outer God’s leg fell again.

After repeating it any number of times, something on a completely different level from anything before began to fall.

The first thing I felt was Water Pressure.

“…kgh.”

The Water Pressure had risen just enough to kill whatever had fallen.

Enough to kill a Lizard.

Then enough to kill a Centipede, which lasted longer than a Lizard.

So how strong would the Water Pressure have to be to kill a fallen Outer God? Just as I was bracing myself with that thought-

A Burden I’d never even imagined came crashing down.

[Ke, gik.]

[Ah.]

[I…]

The Deep Sea Creatures I’d created shouldn’t have been able to open their mouths.

They were fish, after all. Things that couldn’t open their mouths and speak. Naturally, I hadn’t given them anything like vocal cords either.

[Co, cold, cold, coldcoldcoldcold-]

[Why am I, me. Get out. Why am I here. Why am I here.]

[This. I didn’t want this.]

The trembling creatures each muttered something, then.

-Crunch!

Began to chew themselves up with the teeth that had grown in.

‘…so this, is an Outer God…’

A sense of awe rose somewhere in my mind.

Normally I would have just dismissed it as a bizarre, horrific sight, but right now I could clearly see the cause and effect of these Deep Sea Creatures killing themselves.

Invisible blood flowing from the wounded Outer God was bestowing life on everything it touched.

Liquefied miracle, in the most literal sense.

I could tell. A pebble that touched that blood would gain life and start moving. A dead animal would come back to life and walk again.

The Deep Sea Creatures, made of Sea Water, were being arbitrarily transformed by the concentration of it, gaining the Authority to speak and a sense of self, and then choosing on their own to end their lives.

I didn’t know why. Perhaps once they gained selfhood, they realized this Deep Sea wasn’t a particularly pleasant place to live.

It was only then that I really felt what I was up against.

A god from outside.

In other words, an existence that creates and shapes life.

A god.

‘…get a grip.’

I clenched my teeth, trying to hold onto my contaminating mind.

This was the first time I’d come this close to its actual body, rather than just its tentacles, so I hadn’t known it had this kind of power. Now that I did, getting any closer to its blood was out of the question.

The problem was that I had no way to block that god’s blood, the Divine Blood.

It had no shape, no scent, no color, nothing. Its mere existence corrupted everything around it. Backing away without even knowing what to do, I soon furrowed my brow.

Because I was clearly seeing that thing which, as I said, had no shape or anything else.

How?

“…ah.”

I grabbed the Sea Water around me and moved it, and I understood why.

This Sea Water that imbued things with life had the same constituent properties as the god’s blood. I had been tracking its position by watching the Sea Water get tainted by it.

In that case.

I stirred the surrounding Sea Water and pulled the creature’s blood out of the area.

Only then did my dying Deep Sea Creatures barely manage to settle. Most of them had already died, though.

Just as I was trying to save what few remained.

-Bang!

“…damn it.”

This time, as if the Deep Sea couldn’t stand to lose, it began to display its own Burden.

The Water Pressure started rising exponentially in an instant. Far, far more than when it had been killing mere Lizards.

By the time it reached almost the level of Water Pressure I was familiar with, the only Deep Sea Creature left alive was a single small Jellyfish.

Just as I was wondering what to do about this.

[…….ah. ah…..]

At last, beyond the Outer God’s leg, beyond its body, its face entered my Current Sense.

A chill ran down my spine when I saw it. Since the legs resembled an Octopus, I’d naturally assumed it would have an Octopus’s head.

That had been narrow-minded of me. Its head was the face of a corpse, with full features.

Nose, eyes, mouth, all bound up in bandages. But dark red blood was seeping out of every one of those openings.

Even that was just a guess. With my Current Sense, which had grown several times stronger upon entering this space, I could only confirm a tiny portion of it. That’s how massive it was.

As I stood overwhelmed, the bandage covering its eyes slowly slipped down.

From within it, an iris in a rotten, melting eyeball, an eye whose mere falling could destroy an entire city, writhed and then looked at me.

The iris looked at me, then at the Jellyfish beside me.

[Ah.]

Then, without opening its mouth, it shook its tentacles to form words.

I could understand those words, which carried no meaning of their own.

Right now, it was.

[Help me-]

It was asking me for help.

“…”

It conveyed words without parting its lips. Not being shaken by that fact was extraordinarily difficult.

Naturally, I didn’t reply.

If I opened my mouth and made words now, I’d be exposed.

Exposed to the fact that it had badly mistaken whom it was asking for help.

[I, to you, can be of help, little one-]

Mistaking that for hesitation, the Outer God laid down its card first.

[So, help me.]

Those two sentences.

I analyzed its method of conveyance as fast as I possibly could, with a level of focus I wasn’t sure I’d ever brought to anything in my life.

And the Outer God’s method of communication, once I grasped it, was disastrously incomprehensible.

‘…it gave life to sound itself?’

The Outer God was using its blood to lend life to the surrounding sounds.

The faint sound of bubbles popping that could just be heard even within the Deep Sea, the small squelching noise of flowing water brushing against its robe. It animated such things and used them to convey the meaning it wanted to express.

For a brief instant, the sound of a popping bubble became a living being that carried the meaning the Outer God wished to deliver. If I’d been near it, even an insignificant insect would have understood what the Outer God was trying to say.

It was wasteful and extravagant beyond reason, the very pinnacle of inefficiency. Stunned by the method even as I marveled, I hurried to move the Sea Water.

Creating life was something I could do too. Doing it that way was outside the bounds of common sense, but if I knew how, I could pull it off.

[What can you give me?]

It was crude, but I waved my hand and used the small bursting sound it produced as a vessel, breathing intent into it to give it life.

It was so shabby that I felt a bit nervous, but the Outer God seemed to find reassurance in that very crudeness, and crafted another intent in reply.

[I shall share my Authority with one as feeble as you-]

Saying something a touch rude, the Outer God suddenly extended Divine Blood and tainted my Jellyfish.

It would be dangerous if this thing burst. I flinched but stayed still, and the trembling Jellyfish soon began to swim peacefully.

Its movements looked far more at ease than before.

[If you wish, move it.]

I tried moving the Jellyfish and flinched.

I hadn’t used any command, any Water Pressure, any Current. The Jellyfish, which should have been a separate being from me, moved as naturally according to my will as if it were a part of my own body.

I gave my hand a light wave, and it instantly returned to formless Sea Water.

Another wave of my hand and, conversely, it took the form of a Jellyfish again. I knew, almost instinctively, that this was something I’d be able to do outside as well.

Until now, my method had been close to borrowing someone else’s Sea Water and creating life that didn’t have my permission. But this was entirely my own.

It was only about a cup’s worth, but it was the water of life, something only I could handle.

While I stood there astonished, the Outer God replied as though it were nothing.

[That much, at least, will be far better than your meager Authority. The price has been paid-]

[Right. So what do you need help with?]

[Bring them…]

[Huh?]

What the hell was this nonsense.

The Outer God didn’t appear to have any external wounds.

Be that as it may, the Outer God kept generating intent.

[I cannot hold out long. Bring the dead gods, those like you-]

[I’ll do it if you tell me one thing. It’s just that I don’t understand.]

[…?]

[Why did you fall here?]

It was a bit risky, but right now the Outer God was wounded and trusting me.

I couldn’t do nothing in a situation that would never come around again.

I was, of course, quietly compressing Water Pressure behind my back, but the more information I could dig up, the better.

[The same as you.]

The Outer God loaded its intent with a slightly heavier weight.

[I was defeated, and I fell.]

[Your opponent was merciful, then. You didn’t die.]

[How frivolous- we are beings who do not die, so even in defeat, we do not perish-]

[…]

Wait, these bastards didn’t die?

I let my mouth fall open, dumbfounded.

I supposed that made sense, since they were gods. But not dying even after losing to another god, wasn’t that just immortality, invincibility?

In that case, the reason defeated gods fell into the Deep Sea was.

[…so you, like me, were sealed away in the Deep Sea forever.]

[Yes.]

The Outer God bit at the question I’d dangled in front of it.

In other words, the reason Outer Gods were swarming at the bottom of the Deep Sea was that this Deep Sea was a kind of prison.

A place to lock away defeated Outer Gods so they could never escape again.

‘So it’s not just this one, then.’

I’d assumed there were maybe two or three at most. Feeling my head start to ache at the thought of dealing with these undying divine beings, I asked the next question.

[So how do you plan to escape?]

[No matter how well it has hidden, surely, it must exist.]

[What? Who?]

[The one who rules this Deep Sea.]

The Outer God said it through gritted teeth.

[I can find it. If I find that Ruler, this Deep Sea will no longer be a place to fear-]

[…I see. That’s enough. All my questions have been answered.]

I nodded along.

[I’ll head out right away. Anything else you need?]

[Quickly-]

The Outer God lifted a trembling leg and conveyed its intent.

[Granting you Authority has left me with almost no strength. While I hold on, as fast as you can-]

“So that’s how it is.”

[…?]

The Outer God realized half a beat late that I had spoken aloud.

‘So that’s what the Qualification Test really was.’

Not whether I could win, but whether I could deceive.

It was testing whether I had the qualifications to avoid being detected by Outer Gods even in the Deep Layer where they lurked.

Whether I could create life convincing enough to fool them.

In other words.

“So it was over the moment it first saw my Jellyfish…”

[What- a lesser being, how-]

The instant the Outer God saw my Jellyfish, it had recognized it as one of its own kind without a shred of doubt.

That meant my ability to create life was a passing grade even by Outer God standards.

Only one thing remained. Proof that I had passed.

The moment I realized that, the world grew hazy.

It felt like my body was turning into bubbles and dissolving into the Deep Sea.

I’d felt this before. The sensation of becoming Sea Water, becoming part of the Deep Sea.

But it didn’t feel as awful as it had then.

[What in the world is this…!]

Watching the dumbstruck Outer God gradually fade away, a question rose in me.

Was this thing a fake the trial had created?

Could a trial really conjure up something like a fake Outer God?

There was only one way to find out.

[Jern! You’ve come to your senses!]

When I opened my eyes again.

My clothes were talking.

[…how can this be…]

Beside them, what looked like animated, living water was trembling.

I had come to and shot upright, and I immediately swept my hand through the space between them.

[…!]

The Middle Layer, which was already half out of its mind, watched a blood-red Jellyfish come into being beneath my swept hand and slowly melted away.

“It was real.”

Looking at the Jellyfish with the same dazed expression, I chewed over what had just happened, and a possibility suddenly occurred to me.

‘Wait, that bastard was creating life out of sound that wasn’t even alive, so maybe-‘

I closed my eyes, gathered my own Sea Water in my hand, and created life.

This time it wasn’t a Jellyfish, or sound, or anything like that.

It was a simple Air Bubble.

“…”

[I, I cannot believe it.]

The only means of escaping the Deep Sea. Adjusting the concentration between the Real World and the Abyss Realm.

The piece of the Real World absolutely indispensable for that.

In other words, the air of the Real World.