Saturday, November 14, 2015

Overlord Volume 9 Epilogue

(Re)Translated by Nigel
Edited/Proofread by Deus Ex Machina

The cold night wind whistled past him.


It stirred up Brain Unglaus’ hair and set his clothes fluttering as well.

“…It’s freezing out here…”

The wind scattered his pale white breath and his mumbling, carrying them into the distance.

Even the deepest parts of his body felt like they were frozen.

Brain was alone atop the walls of E-Rantel, where the three of them had been before they had moved out.

There was nothing here except darkness.

Many of the Kingdom’s people had lost their lives during the battle― no, the massacre of the Katze Plains.

He remembered what he saw when he crawled off that battlefield.

The defeated people dragged their feet lifelessly, their clothes were tattered and they looked utterly wretched.

Even though Brain was a warrior who trod the edge of life and death on a regular basis, the image of that hellscape ―created by a single magic caster― remained seared into his eyes.

Even E-Rantel ―protected by its city walls― could not be considered a safe place by any means. However, the soldiers who had fled here were utterly exhausted and they collapsed like puppets whose strings had been cut.

Upon this unmanned tower, Brain slowly exhaled again.

Then, he looked silently to the sky.

“I just keep thinking… nothing really matters anymore.”

Brain looked at his hands.

Even now, the weight from when he had carried the lifeless lump of meat that was that man’s body remained in them. Try as he might, he could not forget it.

He was a great man, and a rival who had always been a step ahead.

The death of that man -- Gazef Stronoff -- filled him with a profound sense of loss.

What Gazef meant to Brain could not simply be summed up by the word “rival”.

Brain had become the man he was now because Gazef had fought him during the martial tournament, because he had soundly defeated Brain and his ever-growing pride, because he had ignited Brain’s burning desire to defeat Gazef.

Brain Unglaus had lived, grown and refined himself because of Gazef. The strength of the man called Gazef was enough for Brain to invest his life into surpassing it. It was just like how a son had to surpass the barrier he called his father.

However, the person he should have surpassed no longer existed.

RIght until the end, Gazef had loomed tall before him until he passed into death.

Brain had once seen the true meaning of power in the form of Shalltear Bloodfallen. So for a time, he had fallen and could not rise.

He had relied on his strength as the basis of his confidence, so when his strength had been broken, the rest of him proved unexpectedly fragile. The Brain who stood here now could admit that.

However, Gazef had been different.

“Ainz Ooal Gown must surely be a monster of the same caliber as Shalltear Bloodfallen. And yet Gazef stepped forward to confront him anyway.”

At that time, Gazef did not request the duel for a worthless reason like his own survival. He must have had a completely different motivation than Brain, who had flailed his sword at Shalltear while on the verge of tears.

What on earth had made him do that?

“I don’t understand. Why didn’t you run?”

Forcing the words out was like coughing up blood.

“Why did you choose to die? That monster said he’d have let you go, no? Shouldn’t you have conserved your strength to challenge him later? Why did you do it?! If you had to die, I wanted to go with you!”

If he could not surpass Gazef, then Brain wanted to die with him.

Brain turned his vision to the weapon at his waist.

It was Razor Edge, which he had been temporarily allowed to carry.

Brain drew Razor Edge, and activated the martial art.

“[Fourfold Slash of Light].”

This was the technique Gazef used to defeat Brain in the martial tournament.

Four arcs of light cleaved the nearby railing to pieces. There was virtually no resistance and the blade flowed through the metal like it was water.

“I learned this because of  you… I admired you… I wanted to die with you. Why wouldn’t you let me fight by your side? Why didn’t you tell me that I could die with you!”

Brain covered his face.

His eyes were hot, but the tears did not flow.

Just then, the sound of footsteps reached Brain’s ears. Only one person would come here.

“I hear men cry more easily when they get older. I guess that’s true.”

“I think the pain of losing someone precious to you has nothing to do with age.”

It was the hoarse voice he expected.

“…Forgive me, Climb-kun. In the end, I left everything to you.”

Brain rubbed his eyes, and sheathed his sword. He turned and saw Climb, wearing his armor with a puzzled expression on his face.

“However…well, even if I was there, it would have been useless, right? Under these circumstances, nobody’s going to try and kill the King. Tell me, what happened after that?”

“Yes. Prince Barbro hasn’t returned yet, so they decided to send out a search party for him tomorrow.”

And because they could not spare enough soldiers for this duty, they were planning to use adventurers instead.

“After that, there was the matter of ceding E-Rantel ― it was a unanimous decision. All the nobles approved. Even the King agreed.”

Even the nobles of the Royal faction had approved.

During the demonic disturbance, the power of the Royal faction had grown. Although this increase in power meant that they could mobilize the vast army they had sent to the Katze Plains, it also meant that the grievous losses they suffered there would had massive repercussions. And if they gave away E-Rantel, which was directly administered by the Crown, then only the royal family would lose out. They probably though that since this was the case, they might as well do it, since it was the only way for them to survive.

This time round, the Royal faction had been severely weakened, while the Noble faction had grown stronger.

What would all of this mean for the future?

Suddenly, he realised that Climb’s body was trembling

He was not shaking anger from anger, but fear. Remembering the horrific sights from back then must have set his broken soul screaming. That absolute despair was probably drawing close to him.

“…Even now, I get frightened when I think about them.”

Perhaps it was something like a strength born of desperation.

In his memories, he recalled how Climb stood with him in preparation to battle the Sorcerer King. Maybe he knows the answer, he thought.

“Hey, tell me something. Why did Gazef ask for the duel?”

Climb’s face was a picture of surprise. Just as Brain wondered if he had not been clear enough and prepared to clarify his question, Climb answered him.

“This is just my personal opinion, is that all right?”

“It’s fine, it’s all good, go ahead.”

“…Could it be that he wanted to show it to us?”

“…Show what to us?”

“The power of the Sorcerer King, Ainz Ooal Gown. And then… he must have wanted to give us a future.”

“A future?”

“Yes. It was so that we’ll have some tactics and information in case we have to do battle with him in future.”

It hit him like a bolt from the blue.

There could be no other answer. Climb was right.

That man had bet his life in order to squeeze out what little information he could for them. Although, he did not think that the Sorcerer King, as a magic caster, would willingly enter melee combat again without bodyguards by his side. Even so, he had staked his life on the miraculous chance that it might happen again. Then, who would he entrust with that possibility?

Brain laughed at himself. I never even thought that might be the case.

In that case… how would he live on, now that he knew what Gazef’s thoughts were?
As Brain lost himself in thought, Climb asked a question, as though he were unable to bear the silence.

“…If I’m not wrong, Stronoff-sama won’t allow himself to be resurrected?”

“Gazef was that kind of man.”

Even if they used resurrection magic, it did not necessarily mean the dead would come back to life. The legends said that people who were happy with their lives would refuse resurrection.

“The King does not seem to have accepted that yet.”

“That’s only to be expected. However, that guy won’t be back… Still, it’s quite a surprise.”

“Yes. I don’t understand what Gazef-sama was thinking. Shouldn’t he come back to life and continue pledging his loyalty? It’s what I would do.”

“Is that so? As for you, Climb, I think you would do that. As for me… don’t bring me back after I die. I don’t think… I’ve lived a life that I regret.”

“For my part, I would still choose to return. I want to grind this body to dust in service to Renner-sama... if I can afford to.”

Only one person in the Kingdom could use resurrection magic. There was no doubt the price she would ask would be staggering… but that was the rightful price of defying the grave.

During the demonic disturbance, all the adventurers technically belonged to the same team so there was an exception, but under normal circumstances, resurrection would cost a sizeable amount. It was a sum that would make one’s eyes pop out, and normal civilians or soldiers could work their whole lives and never be able to afford it. The same went for Climb.

Your Princess-sama would gladly pay up, Brain did not say. Instead, he replied, “Is that so?”

The silence descended on them again. This time, Brain broke it.

“I really wanted to defeat that guy…”

Climb did not answer. Brain did not expect him to either. No, if he thought about it rationally, these words meant nothing to Climb. However, he felt that he had to say the things piled up in his heart.

“I lost to him in the past. So I thought I wanted to beat him. But now, that’s impossible… Ah, I let him get away,” Brain said as he looked to the night sky. “Dammit…”

“…Brain-san.”

What should I do?

What should I do about Gazef’s will?

“No, it should be like this. What am I confused about? There’s only two choices. Carry it on, or don’t carry it on. I want to… win? Ah, is it like that?…”

In the end, isn’t there only one answer for me?

A savage smile bloomed on Brain’s face, and he raised Razor’s Edge to the sky.

“Hmph! Who the hell wants to carry on your will!”

Brain shouted loudly, from the bottom of his heart.

“You chose to die! How dare you take the easy way out! Go regret it in the afterlife! I ― I will, I will surpass you in my own way! Climb! Let’s go drink! Let’s get some wine and have some fun!”

He did not know what to do.

However, he knew that he did not want to simply inherit Gazef’s will. If he did that, then no matter what he did, he would never be able to beat him.

Besides, he would probably end up thinking about Gazef over and over again in the future. Therefore, he ought to forget him for a short while.

Brain reached out to grab Climb by the shoulder and pushed him forward. The weight on his hands lightened a little.


Previous Chapter | Main Page | Next Chapter

81 comments:

  1. T_T this is the last one, wish you all the best skythewood. Shame we can't go underground T_T

    ReplyDelete
  2. volume 9 was awesome . thanks sky

    ReplyDelete
  3. MY GOD 3 Chapter at once Thank you sky team you guys are the best

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you Skythewood team . I never wrote anything, but with overlord coming to an end i really feel like i have to say it at least once. Thank you for all the good memorys.OFC Im gonna support all your new stuff (im down for genocide reality). I wish everyone a nice day,

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What is that ''genocide reality'' you speak of?

      Delete
  5. thanks so much really

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks.. i'am from indonesia..
    saya selalu membaca setiap volume yang keluar...

    #MH

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you for all your hard work! We will all miss this wonderful tale.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Isn't volume 10 going to be published this month?

      Delete
    2. hopefully someone, somewhere , will keep translating it. maybe in 4chan...

      Delete
  8. Thank you, for everything. It had been immensely enjoyable.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Aww i wanted to hear the nobles say "should had listen to gazeth" lol

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thank you for all your hard work up till now!

    ReplyDelete
  11. the sadness looms over us, as many sad things has happened by reading this chapter T^T

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thank you this translate. I enjoy this.

    ReplyDelete
  13. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  14. And we come to the end of an amazing journey. Thanks Skythewood it has been incredible.

    -R

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thx for the chapters again enjoyed the ride while it lasted hope I the best & looked foward to future translations.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thanks for the translates! It's been fun, this was really the only series one I thoroughly enjoyed to be honest - far better than the anime so may not be back since SAO isn't being translated either.
    So long! And thanks for all the fish :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. São is but at a extremely slow paste... It can't even be called translating since how slow it is so I see where your going. But at least defan is taking it...

      Delete
  17. Thank you for your time and hard work, it really is appreciated.

    ReplyDelete
  18. thank you very much

    ReplyDelete
  19. is going underground a thing because i dig reading it underground for volume 10 (dat pun tho) only problem is how do i go about it(ex:where do i find after v10 is out and stuff)

    PS: as a lurker since the start of the translation i wish you the best and i will be sure to keep following your stories

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There are places underground that do novels that are licensed. Like Mahouka.

      Delete
    2. Please tell me. I was looking for Mahouka, but didn't find it

      Delete
    3. I don't dare to risk linking directly here. There are trails here and there. Google is your friend.

      Delete
    4. If you should ever find this being translated underground I implore you to mention it in the comments, but not the link or anything like the translator's group name of course that would be far too risky.

      Delete
  20. Thank you so much guys for translating this. It's such a unique tale and is probably now one of my favourite series of all time. It's such a shame that it's over now, and as many people say, it may take a long time for Yen Press to catch up. I do hope to read volume 10 one day though, so I really hope that Yen does a quick job on those books. I would buy them all day one if they did volumes 1-10 right away. Anyway, thanks again Sky, it's been great!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sadly, they do 4 volumes a year max per series. So it's a min of 2.5 years. So I would say in 3 years... T_T

      Delete
    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    3. dont buy anything from yen press, youll just support them doing this to light novels and translators over and over again. their quality will be lower than skythewoods anyways lol

      Delete
  21. The journey was a blast. Been reading since start of volume 2. Gazef died, translation stopped. Soo many sad things.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Thank you guys for the last one T.T

    ReplyDelete
  23. Man, it's finally over. I'm actually really sad that it has to end this way, in fact if yen press released them in English at a fast rate I would purchase all of the light novels out of respect for the author and the amazing story they have made. :'(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. naw i wouldnt give yen press one cent, i hate what they do to lns and translators

      Delete
  24. Thank you for everything! This volume was awesome

    ReplyDelete
  25. THANK YOU FOR THIS INCREDIBLE TRANSLATION!! I WILL NEVER FORGET!! AINZ-SAMA IS PROUD OF YOU ALL!!! X'D WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.......

    ReplyDelete
  26. Really, thanks so much for the superb quality translation and choice of novel. Thanks for introducing this great novel for our enjoyment!

    Wonderful work, skythewood team. I offer my sincerest gratitude ^_^. Looking forward for more in the future :D.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Thank you so much for the translations. This series was something I looked forward to every week. I've been reading this series over and over since volume 2. You guys have done such a great job and kept such high quality.
    Again Thank you so much d(^__^)b two thumbs up.

    ReplyDelete
  28. So this is it. The end of our journey. It's been great in this last couple of month. Thanks to to and the team for all their work in translating Overlord week. Nothing that I can give you guys except this words of thanks and gratefull for all the work you guys has done. Best of luck in the future.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Thank you so much for the work you guys put in on this novel.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Thank you see you in the near future

    ReplyDelete
  31. crying coz of Gazef.... thank youuu

    ReplyDelete
  32. and theres the end of what i look forward to every week :( Guess i have to drop this now, been reading this since volume 1, thank you much for all your hard work.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Thank you sky-sama team~!
    Really appreciate the great quality and fast translations you guys did.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Thanks for all the hard work, hopefully I can read volume 10 someday

    ReplyDelete
  35. all that world building paid off. Made you really understand the costs of this fight. Thanks for the chapter

    ReplyDelete
  36. Thanks for all of your hard work, it's been an absolute pleasure to read so thank you, to the whole translating team.

    ReplyDelete
  37. I also have not commented on anything but seeing how this will be the last volume. I want to say Thank you for all you're hard work. This story is different than the typical hero saves the damsel. Ain'z-sama acts like a real a person should. With vengeance not like those wimps that day thing like "if I kill them it would make me no better than them" even after the enemy killed their friends or parents. Enough said. Well Thank you again.

    ReplyDelete
  38. I also wish to give thanks to those who have put great effort to give me access to such a great story. I will be sure to support the official release in your name.

    You have my sincere appreciation,
    Anon

    ReplyDelete
  39. After realizing this would be the last I'd read of Overlord for a long time, I fell to the ground, like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

    Seriously, thanks to everyone involved in translating this. You guys are awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Thnx sky first post consstant reader thank you for all your hard work

    ReplyDelete
  41. Thank you for translation... ._.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Thank you for the hard work!!

    ReplyDelete
  43. For six months Overlord was the only thing that drew a smile over my Face now that it end temporary I'll re-read all

    ReplyDelete
  44. Thank you so much for your work on overlord so far. Sad to hear about the thing with yen press. Hopefully we can read vol 10 onwards somewhere. Good luck in your other endeavors and thanks again for translating up to here so far. <3

    ReplyDelete
  45. Thank you for these AMASING! Chapers that sky-sama and team have given us the world we shall never forget what you have done for us to this day, All hail AINZ OOAL GOWN! All hail SKY!!!

    ReplyDelete
  46. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  47. Thank you all team sky!! I hope you get to experiente as many good moments as you gave us!!

    ReplyDelete
  48. Thank you to everyone involved in translating Overlord!

    ReplyDelete
  49. thank you for everything, i have received joy from reading this, my passion to read was ignited again. again thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Hy guys. Volume 10 will be released at the end of may. Its an official info.
    It will take a month until the chinese raw will be available so probably we will have the next volume in july
    http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4047340898/

    ReplyDelete