Wizard of the Abyss – Ch. 245

Wizard of the Abyss

[Extra Novels]

Chapter 245 - Depth (12)

Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like it was obeying my commands.

[Ah—ah—ah!]

If anything, it was closer to the opposite.

The seawater caught in my Tide Sense began to take on a defined shape.

-A colossal giant, so massive I couldn’t even look up to see its full form.

[Y-you…]

The giant pointed a finger straight at me.

[How dare you…us…]

"..."

I stepped back, retreating from the approaching giant.

That form wasn’t its true body and just a manifestation. With each step it took, the surrounding pressure intensified.

It didn’t feel like I was sinking, but more like the world itself was rising.

From within that form, the mid-layer was crawling out.

'This won’t work.'

I came to a decision rather quickly.

The plan to control it using bait had already failed. And trying to fight something that wasn’t even a proper lifeform and just a location representing depth was impossible.

The only silver lining was that I had at least managed to plant my threads in it.

Which meant there was still a chance to communicate.

"Stop right there. Take one more step, and you won’t like what’ll happen.”

I held out my hand, trying to halt the giant, though I highly doubted that it would listen to me.

[...]

However, surprisingly, it actually stopped.

I hadn’t even made an offer yet, so I couldn’t help but tilt my head in confusion.

[Hah.]

[Ha. Ha. Ha…]

[Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha......]

A grotesque laughter echoed.

It wasn’t just a single voice, but countless voices overlapping into one.

As the overwhelming sound reverberated through my head, my Water Partition collapsed.

"...!"

The only thing that had been protecting me in the Abyssal Sea vanished as if it had never existed.

Naturally, the pressure crushing me increased hundreds of times over.

My body felt like it was about to burst. I swallowed the blood rising up my throat as the giant continued to approach, still mocking me.

[—You endured well, young one.]

[You honed your own weapon to survive down here.]

[And you dared to face us with it?]

[Did you truly believe your weapon would work even in deeper places…?]

As it came closer, its speech became more fluent.

Even while being crushed by the pressure, I could tell that it wasn’t just better at speaking.

The will contained within the surrounding seawater was simply becoming clearer.

[Remove it.]

[Do not test my patience…]

"Then..."

[...]

"Try killing me..."

I forced myself to stay conscious as I replied.

My Water Partition was like a small diving suit that was meant to withstand the Abyssal Sea. 

But from the mid-layer onward, entirely different liquid flowed toward me. If those fluids with will were like lava, then there was no such thing as a suit that could help me swim through it.

That was why I had to use the Fishman bait.

"The moment I die…You’re finished, too.”

Because lava feared cooling.

Just like with Fishman. It had already been indicted by my puppet threads. An impurity had invaded it.

But—it still maintained itself because it preserved its purity. Even molten lava cooled if water was poured into it.

And it was even worse for this thing. If even a tiny amount of foreign seawater mixed into the mid-layer and disrupted that purity, it would rupture instantly.

That was what Fishman had told me. And I had confirmed it myself while fighting it.

That was why it couldn't ignore the fact that something foreign was inside it. 

And in that situation, it would never tolerate the variable of killing me. Compared to a mere human like me, it was a being made of far too many overlapping lives.

[...]

Silence stretched on.

My vision slowly turned white, and I could hear my bones creaking.

But I did nothing and just endured.

If I removed the puppet threads like it demanded, it would all be over.

Eventually, darkness crept into my vision as consciousness began to fade.

[...Insignificant creature. A small life that does not know its place.]

"G-ghk—"

Suddenly, the Water Partition returned.

I collapsed onto the seabed, trying to recover from the pain, and realized it had never disappeared. It had been protecting me the whole time.

It simply couldn’t block the mid-layer’s seawater.

[Speak...]

"Cough, what?”

[Tell me why you woke me…]

"..."

Even as my body felt like it was being torn apart, I forced a smile.

The fact it was willing to talk even though it was overwhelmingly superior meant my gamble had worked.

'Good thing I fully committed to this...'

I let out a quiet sigh of relief. If I had held back my threads, it might have just removed them on its own.

The threads tangled through the giant’s body like a web, making it seem like even removing them would cost it a significant portion of itself. That was why I could even speak to it now.

After steadying myself, I said what I wanted.

"Send me down.”

[...You wish to join us?]

"No."

I frowned and refused.

I had no intention of living as seawater. Not now, not ever.

"Below you. There’s something beneath the mid-layer, isn’t there? To where the beings called the Outer Gods live.”

[...]

The mid-layer didn’t answer for a while.

Even in the silence, standing within it, I could feel its disbelief.

[What did you say...?]

"I need to reach the bottom of the Abyssal Sea. You can send me there, can’t you?”

It took nearly 10 minutes before it finally spoke.

[To descend below is impossible for insignificant beings…]

[To sink requires weight. You are far too light.]

"...Weight?"

[To reach below, you must first pass through me. You cannot do so.]

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

I frowned and retorted.

"Why not? You can just let me through."

[I told you. You are too light to pass through me. THis is not something I can resolve for you.]

[You must possess sufficient qualifications to pass…]

"What the f…”

I swallowed the curse that almost came out, let out a sigh, and asked something else.

"Then, how do I get that qualification?"

[Gain greater qualification...]

"Do I just keep eating everything around me or something?”

How many deep-sea creatures would I have to devour?

The mid-layer shook its head, almost as if it found me pathetic.

[It is not a matter of physical weight…]

The moment it raised its hand, my body was suddenly tightening.

[I will test how much you can enter...]

"I’m asking what that qualification actually is."

[Do you see it?]

Instead of answering, it suddenly asked a strange question.

Naturally, I saw nothing and shook my head.

"No.”

[Do you see it now…?]

"No."

[And now…?]

"What are you trying to do? I said I can’t see anything.”

[You still cannot see it?]

"Ah..."

I was about to snap again when something appeared at the edge of my Tide Sense. 

A faint, wavering light. Almost spanning from one end of the capital to the other.

In other words, at the absolute limit of my Tide Sense’s range.

"...You mean that light?”

[You are very light.]

The mid-layer let out a deeper sigh than I did, its expression twisting.

[You wouldn’t be able to cross even a quarter of me. This is not something I can grant you…

"So this qualification is about how well I can control the Abyssal Sea, right?”

[Until you can perceive a space twice as vast and become able to grind stone into sand, you cannot enter. Now that you understand, remove this impurity…]

"..."

I ground my teeth, half-listening to the mid-layer’s words.

So I had to increase my mastery over my Abyssal abilities to pass through it.

Sure, I could grow stronger by devouring deep-sea creatures, but there was a limit to how many I could consume.

More importantly, I didn’t have time. The longer I stayed here, the more I would turn into a deep-sea creature.

"Is there no other way?”

[No matter the method, you must pass through me…. That is the law. I cannot disappear, nor can I cease. I simply exist…]

"Tsk..."

So there was no shortcut.

At this rate, I might have to go back with webbed hands or something. Just as I was thinking that, the mid-layer spoke again.

[However...]

"Huh?”

[There is a method to gain qualification quickly, even if it’s dangerous…]

A fast way to gain qualification.

In other words, a shortcut to rapidly increase my Abyssal abilities.

My expression brightened as I asked.

"If something like that exists, great. What is it?”

[Dodge.]

-Slash!

Something hot brushed past my face, carving into my cheek.

"...?"

I touched the warm blood running down my cheek and slowly stepped back.

“...What the hell is this?”

[What you wanted…]

The mid-layer had already retreated, no longer visible. 

The one who attacked me was something else.

-Snap, snap.....

[Hah. Hick. Kikiki.]

A jellyfish with a thousand mouths. And instead of tentacles, it had long, jagged teeth.

If that could even be called a jellyfish.

Its gaze was fixed on me. It was something I hadn’t even noticed until now, which was absurd, considering it felt far stronger than any deep-sea creature I’d seen.

-Clatter

Invisible teeth snapped again, locking onto me.

"What is this thing?”

[There are others in this Abyssal Sea who possess qualifications similar to yours.]

[I will bring them to you, but you have to handle whatever comes after…]

"Hm."

So—

The mid-layer would use its massive body to gather the most terrifying creatures from across the Abyssal Sea and throw them at me. And I had to defeat them to grow stronger.

Of course, I wasn’t exactly thrilled.

"Can’t you just kill them and turn them into fish balls for me?”

There was clearly an easier way.

The situation was on the verge of exploding at any moment, the creature ready to pounce at me at any moment.

The mid-layer nodded, acknowledging the idea.

[Certainly. That would allow you to deepen faster than facing them directly.]

"Exactly, so…”

[Growing deeper without qualification is meaningless…You would still be unable to pass.]

Rejection.

[Huh, kik]

Gritting my teeth, I drew up my pressure.

The jellyfish mocked me and fired its teeth at me.

-Pak!

"Kgh..."

I barely dodged, but another tooth carved into my thigh. At the same time, the mid-layer spoke lazily.

[Value your life… If it seems you will die, I will protect you…]

"How many of these things am I supposed to kill?"

[It would be wise to take your time. To gain sufficient qualification, you will need to defeat countless opponents.]

The mid-layer answered as if it had nothing to do with this.

[It will take you about a month to defeat this one. Call me again after that…]

A month for just this jellyfish.

Considering that I had to deal with a lot more, that meant this would take me years. 

That wasn’t an option.

"Hooh..."

Steeling myself, I pushed my Tide Sense to its absolute limit—

[...Kik?]

-Crunch!!!

I grabbed one of the teeth it fired with my bare hand.

It was sharper than most blades, tearing into my flesh, but that didn’t matter. Before the startled jellyfish could react, I yanked it in with everything I had.

"...Hurts like hell."

Of course, it wasn’t my physical strength but pressure.

The jellyfish offered no resistance, because that was exactly what it wanted.

Its lower mouth, lined with countless teeth, opened wide in delight, trying to swallow me whole.

The moment a predator believed it had already won was when it was most vulnerable.

I drove a pressure blade straight inside.

[Gkh-]

-Boom!

The jellyfish split in half and exploded.

The pressure immediately crushed it into a fish ball no bigger than a fist.

Holding the blood-dripping ball in my hand, I glared at the slightly surprised mid-layer and snapped.

"Next, hurry. I don’t have time.”

[...Hm.]

Years?

Yeah, fuck that. Even a month was far too long for me.

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