The Handbook for Completing Demi-Human Girls

Chapter 316: 91 Jasmine's Running Away From Home

The Narwhal was sailing unimpeded through the sea territory near the Northern Border. At this rate, Valentina, Fisher, and their party would soon arrive in the territory of Mya, located a distance further north in the Northern Border.

But temporarily shifting our gaze away from Fisher, to beneath the surface of the Southern Ocean, looking at the depths of the seafloor—which was more profound than the sky and where even sunlight could not reach. Dwelling there were the marine demi-human species, unknown to the vast majority of humans. They mostly lived on the broad and flat Seafloor Plains, yet their recent lives could hardly be considered peaceful.

Incidents had been frequently occurring in the Ocean Trench recently. At first, it was just occasional earthquakes, followed closely by countless tall and small sea beasts fleeing in droves, churning the water currents over the Seafloor Plains into utter chaos. Fortunately, there were guardians in every village, which was why they didn't suffer any casualties.

The Fullness Period was soon going to pass. They had no clear idea of what was happening deep within the Ocean Trench at this moment, nor did they know that all of this was closely related to the Royal Family Lord whom they so deeply revered.

Deep within the Ocean Trench, in the depths connected by countless winding and coiling stone walls, lived the many Attendant Sea Beasts contracted by the Whale-kin. They had dwelled here for generations, sharing the consequences of utilizing Curses for the Whale-kin who contracted them. In return, the Whale-kin were required to ensure the safety and food of these massive sea beasts.

Yet in such a secretive place rarely visited by anyone, strands of pitch-black water currents were now continuously pouring out. The power to annihilate vitality carried within these currents was extremely dangerous; it seemed as if there was a source deep within the Ocean Trench continuously releasing such a perilous Curse.

Right below the junction of the Ocean Trench where the Whale-kin lived, an exceptionally beautiful and mature woman wearing a golden crown sat upright on a rock, resting with her eyes closed. Even though she made no movements whatsoever, she possessed a majesty as if she were the center of the entire ocean. That Curse, bearing a terrifying destructive power, continuously dissipated, but it was crushed by invisible pressure just a short distance in front of her, vanishing into this patch of ocean.

In the entire seafloor, probably only the leader of the Whale-kin, the Ocean Emperor Xuan Shen, possessed such power, right?

Above the Ocean Trench, countless Attendant Sea Beasts belonging to other Whale-kin were continuously sharing power, helping a certain figure at the bottom of the Ocean Trench suppress and control the Curse power within her body.

"Gulu-lu..."With the sound of a small string of bubbles coming from below, Xuan Shen slowly opened her eyes. The surrounding water currents abruptly came to a halt, and the bottom of the ocean became extremely quiet. She was seen gently reaching her hand forward to pinch a strand of the pitch-black Curse. After sensing the severity of the Curse, she breathed a slight sigh of relief and spoke to the space below,

"Your Curse has been successfully controlled. Now, you should be able to utilize the power within your body quite well. Congratulations, Jasmine."

Only after she finished saying this did a Whale-kin slowly emerge from the depths of the Ocean Trench, wearing some kind of loose clothing. Because of the water currents, the clothes clung tightly to her body, fully revealing her proud figure. But the most endearing feature was still her pair of eyes, which seemed as if the azure blue of the entire ocean had been poured into them.

She carefully swished the large tail behind her, swimming up nimbly from the depths of the Ocean Trench. Looking with some delight at the black and blue lights circulating in balance in her hands, she found it somewhat unbelievable that she was able to guide two forces to maintain balance so quickly.

"Mom, I succeeded, my Curse has completely quieted down. But... did I cause trouble for many elders in the clan? By borrowing their Attendant Sea Beasts for so long... And I remember earlier when my Curse was at its worst, it seemed to have... scared away the Sea Ghosts and sea beasts living outside?"

Seeing her daughter had completely controlled her power, Xuan Shen supported her cheek with her hand out of boredom, saying nonchalantly,

"Anyway they just mostly sleep inside the Ocean Trench, they wouldn't use their own Curses and Blessings. Moreover, you are my daughter, if you used them then you used them. If they have any complaints, let them come find me... heh, but if they had complaints, they would have long since come to me."

Seeing Xuan Shen acting like a tyrant, Jasmine smiled helplessly. Her mother was a tyrant among the clan... no, across the entire Ocean. Only, she rarely left the Ocean Trench in recent years, which was why she settled down. Otherwise, why would the entire Ocean respectfully address the Whale-kin as the "Royal Family"?

She looked above the pitch-black Ocean Trench. Here, the Whale-kin had collected many naturally glowing fluorites, illuminating this place unblest by the sun. This was also the reason why those Whale-kin often liked to sleep.

Xuan Shen finally confirmed Jasmine's condition. After confirming her body had no problems, she nodded in satisfaction, standing up and heading toward the back of the Ocean Trench.

"Alright, since you've successfully suppressed your Curse, come back with me. The Fullness Period is almost over, and Lamashtia will be back soon. He should be very happy to see you after sleeping for so long."

Jasmine pursed her lips and followed behind her mother. Xuan Shen's starry-sky blue hair trailed far behind her, looking extremely conspicuous in the pitch-black Ocean Trench. Seeing her leaving from afar, the sea beasts all prostrated themselves on the ground or the stone walls, respectfully sending her and Jasmine off.

Jasmine still foolishly turned back to wave goodbye to those sea beasts, but Xuan Shen completely ignored them. Very quickly, the two arrived at the central location of the Ocean Trench. In reality, the Whale-kin had also built many structures here, mostly made of metal. However, the vast majority of Whale-kin were too lazy to build anything, directly using brute force to carve out caves in the Ocean Trench's walls as their dwellings.

The only place Xuan Shen lived was a palace, connecting to another direction of the Ocean Trench—that is, the Abyss where Lamashtia resided.

Most of the Whale-kin were resting. Only a small portion of awake ones, either lying on their sides swinging their killer whale tails or sitting on the edge of cliffs, greeted Jasmine. As Jasmine waved, she looked at her mother's back ahead and suddenly asked,

"Mom, I've always wanted to ask... what exactly is the Fullness Period? Why does Lord Lamashtia have to sleep right when the Fullness Period arrives? The word 'Fullness' doesn't seem to be a vocabulary of our Ocean, does it? I learned about it in the human world; it seems to be related to the moon?"

Xuan Shen slowly stepped into the massive palace constructed of gold, while pointing a finger upward, toward the sky.

"The moon above the surface is not as simple as just a moon. This involves the Spirit World and a certain god existing within it. That god is the public enemy of all current gods; all currently existing gods are hostile towards Him and wish to banish Him from this world... You just need to know that His power is at its strongest during the Fullness Period, and all gods will be distracted to keep an eye on Him."

"Gods, entities like Lord Lamashtia?"

"Mn."

Xuan Shen sat boredly on the golden throne at the end of the palace. Jasmine also sat in front of her, watching Xuan Shen slowly lean back against the throne. The long blue hair behind her quietly draped over her shoulders. She closed her eyes again, and after pausing for a moment, said quietly,

"Jasmine, this is the 10,000th Fullness Period. After this Fullness Period, this world will become dangerous."

"Eh? 10,000th Fullness Period, what does that mean?"

Xuan Shen slowly opened her eyes, looking quite seriously at Jasmine, and reminded her,

"The 10,000th Fullness Period is a deadline. After this deadline, the horn of war will sound. A thousand years ago, many Mythical Species were plunged into the ocean of war. Some were reduced to ashes and smoke, others had their entire race imprisoned. But in the end, it was humanity who achieved ultimate victory through the favor of the gods..."

"Over thousands of years, humans have occupied all the land they can see, attempting to extend their reach into the Ocean. They committed crimes of slaughter and desecration, peacefully multiplying generation after generation, yet they have forgotten how they won the war in ancient history... The Mother Goddess has disappeared for far too long. Either she has grown disappointed with humanity, or something else has caught her attention. In short, the Mother Goddess has abandoned the living beings she once favored."

"In just a few years, humanity's doomsday will arrive, and no one will be spared."

After hearing this, Jasmine pursed her lips, stood up directly, and said somewhat panicked,

"I... I must go to the surface, at least to save Teacher Fisher. I can't let him die in this war."

She was very aware that her mother was an exceptionally powerful and wise person. The things she said to her had never been wrong. This included when she volunteered to go ashore to find Aunt Muxi; her mother had told her that she might be disappointed by humanity, and unexpectedly, her Curse went out of control after this return.

Xuan Shen shook her head after listening and said calmly,

"The Fisher you adore is a good person. Are there no other good people among humans? They will all die in this catastrophe, no one can avoid it. The Ocean will avoid participating in this war, and I will not hesitate to erase any possibility that might tie the Ocean to this war... Or, you can bring that human named Fisher into the Ocean, if you can manage it."

Bring him into the ocean...

How could that be possible? Fisher cared so much about the people around him; how could he do that? He would definitely be unwilling to come back with her... But if that was the case, Teacher Fisher was highly likely to die...

War, why must there be war?

"Then Mom, please let me go to the surface, okay? I must go save Fisher. Even if I just stay by his side, I'll..."

Xuan Shen remained unmoved, still looking at her daughter with a calm gaze,

"I said, I will not hesitate to erase any possibility that might tie the Ocean to this war. The threads of destiny are very sensitive. If you go ashore and encounter life-threatening danger, what should I do? Must I watch you die on the surface? Must I watch you waste your life on the surface?"

Jasmine pressed her lips together, shaking her head sadly. For some unknown reason, the thought of Teacher Fisher dying on the surface made her feel immense sadness, hurting as if a piece of her heart had been carved out by a sharp blade.

"Mom... I, I really cannot let Teacher Fisher die like this in the war. I know, a war that even mother must avoid must be a terrifying existence... But, Mom, you don't know. When I was lonely and helpless, when I was at a complete loss, it was Fisher who encouraged and helped me. If not for Teacher Fisher, I wouldn't even have been able to return to the Ocean. Because of this, he is now being hunted by the Queen he once adored to the point of being homeless. How can I feel at ease watching him wander alone outside with no one to care for him?"

"Mom, you taught me from a young age to repay kindness. I once promised Teacher Fisher I would go ashore to reunite with him. This is my promise. Are you asking me to break my word and back out?"

A hint of light faintly surged in Xuan Shen's eyes, yet she maintained her previous posture.

"War, a war between Mythical Species... Jasmine, you, and too many others, have been complacent for too long, forgetting the terror of war. You have not witnessed the heavens and earth tearing apart. You have not witnessed blood flowing like rivers. You have not witnessed countless corpses. I participated in that war, saving the Ocean from the brink of evaporation..."

Jasmine's eyes grew red upon hearing this because every sentence, every word her mother described felt like depicting Fisher's end. She simply couldn't tolerate it and couldn't accept such an outcome.

"But Mother, you clearly used to be the Ocean Emperor whose might shook the four seas. Are you now going to become a cowardly weakling? I am not willing to be such a Whale-kin! I am not willing to hide!"

Xuan Shen's expression grew slightly cold. That drop in temperature continuously spread through the Ocean as if intended to freeze the entire sea. The pressure in the sea skyrocketed, and the gold-forged palace instantly let out a massive wail. Only the set of armor adorned with traces of trophies behind Xuan Shen stood firm.

Jasmine instantly felt the surrounding seawater madly pressing down on her, leaving her unable to move a single muscle in her body.

"Jasmine, during the war, Demon Gods Baal and Baimon were both defeated by my hand. The entire Phoenix Race combined couldn't withstand a single strike from me. Fafnir's Dragon Court tottered under my feet, and I severed three of Jehovah the Angel-kin's wings..."

The starry-sky-like hair atop Xuan Shen's head surged slowly, contrasting the skyrocketing aura on her body to seem boundlessly deep. In her calm and simple words, there intermingled a storm filled with blood and corpses from battle after battle. Yet Xuan Shen remained as unmovable as the Ocean itself, sitting there staring at her daughter.

"I have never thought of hiding. If not for you, if not for this immature you, I could still stand on the ocean holding my sword, waiting for any enemy seeking death... A wet-behind-the-ears child like you has no idea whatsoever what war means. That would mean the tragedy of Muxi repeating before your eyes time and time again. Separations far more agonisingly painful than yours from that human would occur to everyone in the Ocean over and over again..."

"You only care about how separating from that human makes your heart ache. Have you ever considered me? If you die on the surface, do you think I wouldn't be heartbroken?"

Above the throne, beneath that solid golden armor, sat the eternally unmoving Ocean Emperor Xuan Shen. Only today did she speak these words to Jasmine as a mother.

All the Whale-kin outside hid away. Even the sea beasts sensed the Ocean Emperor's wrath, rolling up into balls for fear of being caught in the crossfire, merely stealing distant glances at the golden palace, waiting for Xuan Shen's temper to pass.

The great hall gradually quieted down. Jasmine also somewhat apologetically pursed her lips. Knowing her words had pierced her mother's heart, she lowered her head and whispered,

"I'm sorry, Mom..."

"You have nothing to be sorry for. Now, return to your room, do not come out without my command."

"Mn..."

The seawater surrounding Jasmine abruptly relaxed, lowering the suspended Jasmine down. She carefully stole a glance at Xuan Shen, who had already closed her eyes to rest on the throne, before swimming away towards the depths of the palace without saying a word...

In a room deep within the palace, Jasmine's room was very spacious. She tiredly lay on her large golden bed, closing her eyes, wanting to relax and fall asleep. But no matter what, she couldn't. Opening and closing her eyes, all she saw was Fisher, constantly imagining his tragic death in the war, leaving her unable to rest easy.

Her mother was right; she was a sensible and well-behaved child, naturally understanding the logic therein. But she also cared deeply about Fisher, leaving her thoroughly conflicted...

"My, you're back, little Jasmine."

Just at this moment, an ethereal, ambiguous voice seemed to float by her ears. The voice was as tender as a child's, laced with playfulness and curiosity, seeming very happy to see her.

"Lord Lamashtia? You're back?"

"Mhm, I missed little Jasmine, but the moment I came back I saw you arguing with Xuan Shen... hmm, it seems her temper is as fiery as before, otherwise she wouldn't have barged into the Abyss to beat me up..."

Jasmine pouted her lips, looking somewhat confusedly into the empty space next to her. Not knowing what to do, she pinned her hopes on Lamashtia, hoping He could provide some sort of solution.

"Lord Lamashtia, what should I do... Mom said there will be a severe war later. She's worried about my safety and doesn't want me to go to the surface. But if I don't, Fisher will likely be in danger. I must go ashore to help him..."

"Hmm, this is quite a headache..."

That ethereal voice pondered for a moment; even the tone became audibly troubled. However, a second later, the voice suddenly became lively again, offering a well-thought-out plan.

"Isn't that simple? Why don't you just run away from home?"

"Eh... eh?"