Murky Darkness – Part 03
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Translator: Kell
I swallowed my laughter. Still, the matter was too outrageous to take seriously. At the very least, I didn’t think it was a topic we should be discussing over a meal.
“You seem to be misunderstanding something, Priest,” Zero said. “Destroying the Church is difficult, but destroying the world is easy. Things become simpler when you do not limit yourself.”
“Like instead of searching for thugs in a village, it’s easier to just burn the whole village down?” I said, and Zero nodded.
“Sounds like an argument I’d expect from a witch,” the priest remarked. “So destroy the world to attain world peace?”
“Ah, I remember you saying something like that,” I said.
Last night while we were waiting for Thirteenth’s signal to begin the operation, I suggested we handed over the priest to win the princess over, and subsequently seal Sanare away.
The priest then said that it would be easier to kill Albus, who was being deceived by Sanare.
Then Zero chimed in, saying that destroying the world would solve everything. I didn’t ask for any specifics that time, but if that was Cestum’s goal, then we couldn’t ignore it.
“So Cestum plans to destroy the world to destroy the Church?” the priest asked.
Zero inclined her head, wearing a puzzled look. “Not exactly. As the princess said earlier, their goal is not the destruction of the Church. If I had to hazard a guess, it is the world’s rebirth. Let us assume there is poison in this pot.” She tapped the pot with a spoon. “It becomes inedible, but I cannot remove poison that has already dissolved. What would you do in this situation, Rat?”
“Huh? Uhm, make a new one?” Lily answered.
“Yes. Your only option is remake it. But what do you do before that?”
“Throw away the food…” Lily’s answer was simple. Anyone would have arrived at the same conclusion, and that made my skin crawl.
“That is what they mean by destroying the world. It is only the first step to their end goal of rebuilding it.”
“Impressive as always,” the princess said. “Unfortunately, no one knows how exactly they’re going to execute their plan. One thing is for certain, though: the Boss planned to gather the Knights Templar in the kingdom of Wenias. Sanare apparently thought they would then strike the knights from behind.”
That wouldn’t be enough to destroy the world. It just sounded like they wanted to annihilate the knights.
“How would you do it, witch?” I asked.
Zero lifted her head. “Good question. I have thought of a few methods. Turning water and air into poison is easy, but it would also affect plants and animals. I considered placing a curse on people that would prevent them from bearing children, but if you wish to rebuild the world, leaving behind pure and innocent newborns is necessary. I could not come to a specific conclusion. And then I thought to myself, ‘Non-witches should do it instead’.”
“What do you mean by non-witches?”
“I am not certain myself. However, something unexpected is definitely necessary. Pure violence that will annihilate the Church, witches, adults, babies, and everything in between at random, without distinction. It is the only way to destroy the world uniformly, resulting in a world of peace. That is what I thought.”
“Thought? Past tense?” the priest pointed out.
Zero met his eyes. She gave a gentle smile, the kind an old woman would show to her grandchild. “That was before I invented Magic. Destroying the world was a bit too simple an answer and seemed more like a refusal to think more critically. Then I came up with the idea of Magic to help witches and humans coexist. Moreover, fate made me meet someone whom I do not want to see die. Hence, I no longer wish for the destruction of the world.”
“Give me a break.” The priest looked at the dirt ceiling. “Not another one of your sappy speeches. I’m already aware that you’re obsessed with Mercenary. You don’t have to remind me.”
“I meant you as well, priest.” Zero pointed her slender finger at him.
The priest was taken aback, caught off-guard by her comment. He then forced a stern look. “Me? A priest liked by a witch is just plain morbid. Even if it’s just a plot of some fairy tale.”
“Rat as well. Of course I do not want her parents to die either. The princess that Argentum entrusted to me, her attendant, Horse. The inhabitants of Black Dragon Island, where Magic has spread and taken root. The saint of Akdios, who decided to face her sins and live on, and the one supporting her, Hawk. The cunning governor of Ideaverna. The lass carrying this kingdom on her shoulders. I do not dislike her attendant, Wolf, either.” Counting with her fingers, Zero enumerated the people she had met in the past year.
“At first, I thought only Mercenary was special. But I like watching Mercenary arguing with you about silly matters, and I also like Mercenary cooking with Rat. And so you became special to me.”
“So it all revolves around me?!” I interjected.
Zero smiled. “Yes. You are the common denominator. When Theo died, you were terribly hurt. Remembering that hurt me as well. I did not want you to experience that ever again. Then I realized that the many people I had interacted with since I left the cellar were all irreplaceable and unique.”
“I knew it,” the priest said. “Like I said, sappy.” He glared at me and Zero.
The witch let out an amused laugh. “Perhaps.”
I couldn’t laugh at all. Everyone was special and unique to someone else. I had known that since I was young, but I abandoned that notion growing up. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to do my job as a mercenary. If you thought about the enemy in front of you having a wife or a child, you would never be able to kill anyone.
If Zero developed feelings of “mercy” or “benevolence”, she would no longer be ruthless. I found my thoughts to be cruel.
As I froze in silence, Zero, having finished her meal, flopped into my lap.
“Whoa!”
“I am a ruthless witch, Mercenary,” she said. “That will not change, rest assured. I will not hesitate to take away someone’s precious for the sake of those I care for. But I do not like the idea of tossing you into a world that will be destroyed haphazardly. That is all I am saying.”
Every human being gave preferential treatment to those close to them. I found relief in Zero’s self-centredness.
“So, you’re going to protect the world?” the princess asked.
“Yes,” Zero replied drowsily. She made it sound easy, as if she simply took on a menial task of weeding some lawn. “If Cestum wishes to destroy the world, then I will protect it to the best of my ability. What will you do, princess?”
“I…” The princess shot a glance at the priest. Even inside the dark earthen walls, she could see a little once her eyes adjusted. “What happened to Black Dragon Island?” Her question was directed at the priest.
People who learned Magic should still be living on Black Dragon Island. They had the option to give up Magic and any memory related to it, but the Mages chose to stay.
The priest was aware of that, of course, as he was assigned to investigate the island. His report to the Church would determine the island’s fate. I had no idea what he told his superiors, or what was happening in Black Dragon Island at the moment. He should have given his report back when he stopped by the Lutra Cathedral.
“It was destroyed by the dragon,” the priest answered.
“Uh, what?” I said.
The princess raised an eyebrow.
“The few survivors all escaped the island by ship,” he continued. “Although we succeeded in temporarily putting the dragon into a dormant state, approaching the island would be extremely dangerous. I told His Excellency that it would be wise to designate it as a restricted zone. He will most likely follow my advice.”
Zero whistled. I turned to her, surprised. “I am copying you,” she said. The priest did such a perfect job, I almost wanted to whistle as well.
He gave a false report to the Church in order to protect the Mages of Black Dragon Island. You didn’t have to be well-versed in the Church’s rules and regulations to know that what he did was a serious crime.
“Why?” the princess asked. “You’re Dea Ignis. You ruthlessly killed my master. Why show mercy to the people of the island?”
“Because they haven’t killed anyone, and they never will.”
His answer was simple. The princess took a short breath, a pained expression on her face.
“Historically speaking,” the priest continued, “Black Dragon Island is a penal colony. If the people stay on the island, they’re no different from being dead. And if the Church tried to exterminate them, we might suffer considerable casualties. Some of them might even flee the island. I spared them not out of mercy.”
Raul whistled. Startled, the princess turned around. “I’m copying Mercenary,” he said.
“Please don’t do anything crude.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
Well, excuse me for being crude.
For some reason, Lily whistled as well, then quickly covered her mouth. “I-I was just practicing… I didn’t think it would work.” Trembling in embarrassment, she curled into a ball. She would probably crawl into a hole if there was one. Heck, she might even just dig one for herself.
Zero chuckled.
The princess laughed as well. “So Black Dragon Island has been destroyed,” she said, a distant look in her eyes.
Since the island was now a restricted zone, the possibility of the princess returning on her own was slim. She might be able to get there by swimming, but that would be impractical. She didn’t seem discouraged, however.
“Thank you, Priest,” the princess said firmly. “For destroying Black Dragon Island. I have no intention of forgiving you, but you have my gratitude.”
“I don’t need your gratitude. Anyway, answer Zero’s question. It’s impossible for you to return to Black Dragon Island, but if you request protection from the Church, some country will take you in.”
“I don’t need protection.”
“So, you need a new master?” Zero asked.
The princess’s eyes widened.
“You used Sanare’s research and applied Necromancy to create a new Magic spell. It is a display of your formidable gift and the result of extraordinary effort. Throwing your abilities away would be a huge loss. Argentum asked me to take care of you. I do not have plans to be your mentor, but fortunately, we’re in the Magical State of Wenias. I have connections with the Mooncaller Chief Mage.
“An apprentice of a Stargazer becoming a Mooncaller’s student with the help of a Murky Darkness witch?”
“Sounds quite interesting, don’t you think? More interesting than killing the priest, at least.”
“It does.” The princess nodded without hesitation. She looked Zero straight in the eye. “I’d say that’s the best choice.”
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