Wizard of the Abyss - Chapter 257

Chapter 257: False God (1)

TL/ED – Miso

The First Wizard, the First Wizard. By calling him that over and over, I’d forgotten his true essence.

How could the one who had bound every Outer God and sealed them within his own body possibly be human?

He could never have been human in the first place, and he shouldn’t be.

It was certain he was an Outer God, and that Outer God was none other than the Outer God of the Deep Sea.

“There were no other Wizards of the Deep Sea, so of course no one could’ve known…”

I’d assumed I could use Magic because I was a cloned human, but thinking about it, whether I was cloned from a human or a beast, the fact remained that as a Wizard, falling would strip me of Magic just the same.

Only then did the truth begin to show itself.

‘So he created Magic using the Authority of Creation.’

If I had created Deep Sea Creatures with the Authority of Creation,

then the Outer God of the Deep Sea had created an entirely new concept called Magic.

Literally the First Wizard: the founder of Magic itself.

After that, he had cast aside his name as the Outer God of the Deep Sea.

[Ugh, uuugh…]

“No wonder I had this strange feeling of certainty. That you were doing something impossible.”

A Wizard was someone who had inherited the blood of the First Wizard and could wield his power.

In other words, the descendants of the Outer God of the Deep Sea. Without being one of them, escape from the Deep Sea was impossible from the start.

Because Magic couldn’t be used.

The Mana required to cast Magic could be drawn infinitely from Sea Water. It had been that way ever since Magic was first mastered.

Naturally. Because Magic had been forged within this very Deep Sea.

“So this was Magic…”

I let out a sigh as I conjured an Air Bubble.

Until now I’d been mistaking it for an ability of the Deep Sea; if that had been true, Mimicry would’ve been able to make an Air Bubble the moment he absorbed me. Just like manipulating Water Pressure and Currents.

Now that I thought about it, there had always been an oddly seamless fit between Magic and the Deep Sea. Sea Water serving as a substitute for Mana, the way more Stars meant stronger Deep Sea abilities, all of that.

It was all for the same reason.

Magic was a concept born within the Deep Sea.

[Set me… free…!]

While I was lost in thought, Mimicry was still convulsing, clinging to whatever strength remained.

It was pointless.

“Not happening.”

[Gaaah…!]

I’d been lucky.

If I hadn’t been Mimicked into the Deep Sea, I would’ve had a long, hard struggle even after realizing my true identity. But thanks to my own ignorance of my own state, he’d been thoroughly fooled and kindly handed over his own leash.

And he was about to pay for it with his life.

[You can’t kill me…!]

“True enough.”

Crack!

I clenched my fist in empty air and let out a sneer.

There was no real way to kill a god. Unless I spent the rest of my life keeping Mimicry pinned down, he would surely resurrect, hate me, and wait for his chance.

But I could at least do something to make him wish he were dead.

[Wha-, what are you…]

“That bloated body of yours, useless except for being huge. You won’t mind if I take a piece of it, right?”

[…No!!!]

Slowly, like compressing a piece of fruit.

I dismantled his Deep Sea and converted it into my own Sea Water.

I could feel his bulk, which had seemed vast enough to blot out the sky, gradually shrinking.

And as his bulk shrank, so did Mimicry’s presence.

In equal measure, my Sea Water swelled.

[How dare a mere human think he can handle this! My centuries, the Outer Gods I devoured! Know your place!]

Mimicry tried to threaten me into stopping.

It wasn’t groundless. Mimicry, who had bloated up enormously after devouring countless gods, was huge to a point that wasn’t normal, and trying to swallow him whole did carry the risk of being swallowed instead.

But by now, I knew my own identity.

“Idiot. Where do you think you are right now?”

[….]

“This is the Deep Sea. A place that could swallow thousands or tens of thousands of things like you and not even notice.”

And,

“I am the Outer God of the Deep Sea.”

[This can’t be…]

With half his body already consumed, Mimicry let out one last groan.

It wasn’t much of a final word. As the remaining half vanished, the surrounding Sea Water slowly began to glow a jade color and grew still.

The Deep Sea, where no matter which way I turned, not the slightest sign of life could be seen.

It was wholly my own world.

‘Why the hell did that bastard do it, though?’

I had brought down an Outer God.

And not just any Outer God, but Mimicry, a heavyweight among them.

But I furrowed my brow at the questions still left unanswered.

To summarize what I’d learned so far: out of nowhere, the Outer God of the Deep Sea had created Magic, emerged from below, devoured all the other Outer Gods, built a peaceful world, and then done everything in his power to keep it intact.

…Why?

Had he suddenly developed a love for humanity in this hellish place? No matter how I looked at it, none of that behavior fit an Outer God. As I tilted my head in confusion, I saw a crack splitting open in midair.

‘Oh, right.’

I quickly hurled myself through the rift.

It was cracked, but on the other side I could see the peaceful world.

And in the middle of it, Nightchase, staring at me in stunned disbelief.

“…”

“…”

“…Did you… really beat him?”

“Mm, well…”

“The Outer God of the Deep Sea.”

“…”

She’d seen.

A brief silence stretched between us.

Until Nightchase, her face brimming with killing intent, pulled a spear up out of the water’s surface.

“Why did you do it?”

“…What?”

The mood was anything but ordinary, so I took a small step back. With an expression that looked like she might burst into tears at any second, she leveled the spear at me.

“What is this?! What grudge do you have against me, what did I ever do! Why have you been keeping me locked up here for all these endless years! Answer me! Now!”

“Ah, so you didn’t hear all of it.”

“That’s not an answer…!”

“Just wait.”

I unraveled the spear where it stood.

“What…”

Watching her own conjured spear come apart, Nightchase was stunned.

It meant her domain had been violated with absurd ease.

Honestly, I was a little surprised too.

‘So I can do that too.’

I couldn’t quite tell apart what I could and couldn’t do anymore. That interference just now had been something I’d done almost without meaning to.

Having witnessed the overwhelming gap in power, Nightchase was caught in limbo, unable to act, and could only glare at me.

“First off, I’m sorry for deceiving you. But really, I’m not the Outer God of the Deep Sea. Well, I am, but I’m not the Outer God of the Deep Sea who locked you up.”

“…Explain.”

I laid out the whole story for Nightchase, who had asked in a much quieter voice.

At first she listened with skepticism, but soon, when I got to the part about Magic, she frowned.

“Magic, you said?”

“Like this.”

Whoosh!

I kindled a light flame inside the Deep Sea.

“What about it? You just made fire.”

“Hm… ‘kindled’ would be closer to it, actually.”

At that, Nightchase’s eyes slowly went wide.

“Hold on, ‘kindled’?”

“What? What is it?”

“Bring it here.”

Despite her words, she came over herself, examined the flame from every angle, then clapped a hand over her mouth.

“…World Condensation.”

“What?”

“…”

After a long silence, Nightchase exhaled and nodded.

“I get it. That you and the Outer God of the Deep Sea are different beings. This ‘First Wizard’ must’ve been one seriously deranged lunatic.”

“Yeah. Glad you understand.”

“Then what about my escape.”

“…”

“What happens to it? That’s the only thing that matters to me.”

I scratched my head for a moment, but Nightchase’s serious gaze made it clear I couldn’t dodge the question.

“You can’t leave.”

“…Why?”

“Because the only kind of being who can escape the Deep Layer is one who can wield both the Authority of Creation and Magic.”

A Wizard who was also an Outer God.

But Magic couldn’t be obtained without inheriting the blood of the Outer God of the Deep Sea.

In the end, unless a Wizard who had hit rock bottom realized his own true identity,

“there’s no escape from the Deep Sea.”

Whatever method one tried, it would fail.

The Deep Sea was a cruel prison that allowed no escape.

“…”

Nightchase stared blankly into space, then turned her eyes back to me.

“B-but you, you could let me out, couldn’t you.”

“I considered that too. But no.”

“…Why?”

“There’s only one reason I came down this far. To kill Void.”

To gain the means and the strength to kill Void.

He had, of course, succeeded. Even if he left right now, he would already be overshooting his original purpose by a wide margin.

“That bastard is trying to destroy the world I live in. I have to stop him. But if you get out, my enemies double.”

Every water surface would become hell.

People would drown in wells, choke to death sipping water.

“…”

“I know you were tricked into it, but I’m grateful you helped me. Still, I can’t let you out.”

If not for Nightchase, I might’ve been caught by Mimicry long ago and torn limb from limb.

I owed her my life, and I would’ve liked to grant most favors,

but releasing a beast onto the world above was absolutely not one of them.

“I’m sorry.”

“…I want to see moonlight.”

“What?”

Just as I was about to turn away, Nightchase slowly opened her mouth with a vacant expression.

“Before I fell into this Deep Sea, I was hanging above the ocean for the last time. The crescent moon I saw then was so beautiful. I still can’t forget it.”

So that was why a nighttime sea had become her world.

“I want to see it so badly. Whatever it takes…”

Nightchase took a slow step toward me.

“Sigh…”

So it was going to end this way.

A Lingering Attachment was a Lingering Attachment precisely because it couldn’t be erased. All the more so when it had been festering for centuries.

Without a word, I raised a finger.

Rrrrrumble…

The Deep Layer shuddered, as if it had been waiting for its master to return.

It declared its will to crush any life beneath its boundless weight.

“Whatever price I have to pay, I will.”

Resolve filled Nightchase’s eyes.

It was the first end of an Outer God I had ever witnessed.

***

I opened my eyes.

A bright full moon hung high overhead.

“…Tch.”

Steadying my unsettled feelings, I slowly got to my feet and looked around. Trees.

Organic matter, something I hadn’t seen even once inside the Deep Sea. As I tried to stand, a wave of dizziness hit me and I hurriedly steadied myself.

Walking on land felt unfamiliar. Which probably meant I’d spent that long beneath the Deep Sea.

As I readjusted to gravity and looked around, no matter how I searched, I couldn’t find the lake I’d fallen into.

So I activated Current Sense.

Crrrk-

“Ah, wait-”

By the time I realized something was wrong, it was already too late.

From the floor of the forest, ice-cold water came rushing out, surging and surging, slowly devouring the forest.

Crrnchhh… Trees that had to be at least a century old began sinking under the water in an instant. By the time I hurriedly reined in the ability, what had been a forest without a single river running through it had become a massive lake, easily several hundred meters across.

Since it was made of seawater, maybe I should call it a small sea instead.

‘…How am I supposed to control this?’

Before, I’d only used Current Sense to perceive what was around me.

But this time was different. The moment I activated Current Sense, every place it reached had been turned into the Deep Sea.

This too, when I thought about it, was Mimicry’s fault. Having swallowed him whole, it was as if I’d spent my entire life walking and then suddenly been thrown into the cockpit of a fighter jet.

The slightest exertion of will and it ran wild.

While I floated on top of the lake, trying to figure out how to undo the damage:

“So you finally made it back.”

I saw Cheon-hwa standing on the far side of the lake, torch in hand.

She gave the lake a slightly disturbed look, then turned her gaze back to me.

“Though it seems you did more than just ‘make it back.'”

“You knew, didn’t you?”

I went straight to Cheon-hwa, grinding my teeth.

I’d lost count of how many times I’d thought about killing her down in the Deep Sea.

“That every Wizard is an Outer God of the Deep Sea. You knew it, and that’s why you sent me to the Deep Layer. Why didn’t you say anything!”

“Calm down. First, get your form together.”

“…”

Cheon-hwa pointed at my feet as she spoke.

My feet had melted down and turned into liquid.

“What the hell-”

I yanked them up in alarm, and proper feet appeared again.

Cheon-hwa watched me startle, blinking several times as though she couldn’t believe her eyes.

“This isn’t just realizing you’re a part of an Outer God. You’ve become an Outer God yourself? A human…?”

“Answer me first. Why didn’t you say anything.”

Even with her shock written all over her face, Cheon-hwa managed to find her words.

“If you knew, they would know.”

“…”

“Did you think they wouldn’t notice you trying to hide Deep Sea blood? It was only because you didn’t know that they didn’t either.”

“…”

She wasn’t entirely wrong.

If I had known from the start, I’d surely have been exposed mid-fight with Mimicry, or killed outright. I might even have been stopped at the Middle Layer. That said, it didn’t sit any less badly with me.

“More to the point, you’ve truly become an Outer God?”

“Mm, I guess you could say I had a lot of luck on my side…”

“This isn’t something to celebrate without reservation.”

Cheon-hwa furrowed her brow and shook her head.

“This world was crafted from the very beginning to be hostile to gods. If you had even the basic knowledge it would be different, but you don’t even have that, do you.”

“Nope.”

“If you don’t know how to handle that power, Void may sense you before you even understand it yourself. Honestly, this is beyond anything I imagined, and it’s left me a little shaken. For now, why don’t you go back into the Deep Sea and lay low?”

“After everything I went through to get out, you want me to go back in there?”

I’d rather die.

And besides, it wasn’t as if there were no other options.

“I’ll just ask my senior about the details.”

“Senior?”

Cheon-hwa cocked her head.

Then, slowly, her expression filled with horror.

“You. You, don’t tell me. From that hell…”

“Introductions first. Say hello.”

“…”

I jabbed my thumb toward the lake with a sigh.

A familiar face peeked out from below the surface.

“Strictly speaking, she’s not an Outer God anymore, so don’t worry… she’s not, right?”

Nightchase gave a curt little nod, looking thoroughly displeased.

In response to that greeting, Cheon-hwa glared not at Nightchase, but at me.

“Put her back where she came from. Right now.”

…What was she, treating her like a stray dog?