novelraw Chapter 379: Hunting Dragonspear
Chapter 379: Hunting Dragonspear
"Dong~ Dong~ Dong~"
That dilapidated church bell toll drove time to rewind bit by bit. In Fisher's former dream, within a scene untouched by Erwind and Valentiina's interference, the nun dressed entirely in black pulled the little Fisher—who wore an awful expression—behind her all the way to the entrance of the church school. Only after making sure no other children could be seen nearby did the nun pull the little Fisher to her front.
"Fischer Benavides, you've caused trouble again, haven't you?!"
Little Fisher turned his head away to look in another direction. That silent, incredibly stubborn appearance made Sister Teresa somewhat exasperated, yet she didn't yell at the little Fisher before her again. She merely reached out gently, turning his averted face back bit by bit to look at her, and subsequently asked,
"Tell me, what exactly happened just now? Why was Priest Kara of the Cathedral angered to the point of collapsing onto the ground?"
Little Fisher gazed at Sister Teresa before him. He gently brushed her hand away, then sat down beside her, saying,
"That guy is a pervert. He's always hugging Lear and even tried to stick his hand inside Lear's clothes, but was caught by me. I saw he was wearing a ring on his ring finger, and there was dog hair on his church robes; I guessed he has a wife and child at home. Furthermore, he has no traces of having practiced magic on him, so he should belong to the church's administrative staff, under the Decree Council's jurisdiction. I threatened him that I would tell his family and the Decree Council about him harassing Lear, unless he gave Lear and me one hundred thousand Narios each. And then he collapsed from anger."
Sister Teresa stared blankly at the little Fisher cupping his chin and speaking before her. She reached out a finger and poked his head, exclaiming,
"Well, aren't you something! You actually dared to extort our superior's superior... Where did those one hundred thousand Narios go?"
"It's all Father Lyman's and your fault. If you two hadn't come over, the money would have been in hand..."Little Fisher rolled his eyes at Sister Teresa before him, then curled his lip and muttered softly, though he didn't dare speak too loudly, afraid that Sister Teresa would make him copy the meaningless Scripture of Creation again.
Looking at the little Fisher—who was only six years old yet already possessed a mind entirely impossible to grasp—Sister Teresa sighed and asked,
"Then what did you want so much money for? Two hundred thousand Narios... that's our school's entire subsidy for three whole years. You little brat sure dare to extort others..."
"Well, I planned to first repair the bell tower that I broke, then renovate the school building. With the remaining money, I wanted to deposit it in the bank or invest it... Those bishops who eat, drink, patronize prostitutes, and gamble all manage to make a huge profit, let alone those bosses and New Party assemblymen who are passionate about business and expansion. A large portion of the funds the Golden Palace allocated for the Schwali war has also been embezzled..."
Fisher tapped his cheek with his finger, turned his head, and looked very seriously at Sister Teresa, saying,
"It'd definitely earn more than you guys foolishly conducting prayers, bearing witness to weddings, and writing invocations, right? Working so exhaustingly only earns you a few dozen Narios at most. Every night you have to stay up late memorizing those invocations and wedding testimonies you write. You are all too stupid. If one could get rich relying on this, the textile workers on the neighboring Newt Street who have to work an entire week in the textile factory before they can come back for one day would have long since become billionaires."
Cupping her chin, Teresa looked at the little Fisher conducting his dead-serious analysis, suddenly speaking up,
"Actually... Fisher, you look down on us quite a bit, don't you?"
Looking at the smiling Sister Teresa before him, the excitement he felt from his earlier scheming faded slightly. He shook his head and said,
"I don't look down on you."
"Does that mean you look down on everyone else besides me, then?"
"A little bit, I guess."
"Ha, you really dare to say it, you little brat!"
"Waaa, let me go! Teresa... mmph!"
Teresa abruptly reached out and hugged little Fisher's head, pulling him into her embrace before patting his forehead with her hand, though without much force.
Little Fisher thought he was going to be punished again, but Sister Teresa didn't continue to beat him. Instead, she covered his eyes with her hand. Looking up at the school interior—which was in utter chaos because a high-ranking priest who came from above for an inspection was angered to the point of delirium by a little kid—she suddenly laughed softly,
"In Fisher's eyes, this world is very absurd, isn't it? What you, you little brat, hate the most are the church classics I teach you on a daily basis. You secretly tell the other children that everything about the church is a lie, yes or no?"
Little Fisher pouted and muttered softly,
"Well, it's not my fault they don't memorize the scriptures afterwards anyway. I certainly memorized them."
"So you see, this is precisely why you look down on everyone else... because of their ignorance. Father Lyman, the priest in charge of the school, secretly loves to drink; the superficially holy bishops above actually engage in all sorts of filthy deeds; even those apparently uncorrupt assemblymen are one after another making huge profits. These are the ignorances that make you look down on them, isn't it so?"
Sister Teresa let go of the hand covering little Fisher. She didn't look at little Fisher, but simply gazed at the sky.
"I won't tell you any stories of the Mother Goddess today. Let's talk about the math book you've been reading recently... Fisher, in your eyes, what kind of people are considered good people?"
"...You, um, Lear, little Annie, Gathert, maybe Father Lyman counts too? And Aunt Grey selling candy across from the school; she used to often give out snacks to the school children for free. Also..."
Little Fisher counted on his fingers and pondered, finally naming a few people who could be considered "good people." Counting carefully, it wasn't a large number. Perhaps due to his lack of understanding, he only managed to name around ten people roughly. Yet Sister Teresa laughed, seemingly somewhat surprised,
"That many? I originally thought that in your eyes, I was the only good person... Then, if in our church school of just over a hundred people, one-tenth can be considered good people, how many good people are there in the entire human race? Furthermore, are you certain that these people you mentioned are definitely good people? When Aunt Grey was young, she swindled all her ex-husband's money before fleeing to Saint-Nazareth, you know. Can she be considered a good person?"
"If I said, she only did that because her ex-husband wanted to sell her daughter? If I then added that, after she came to Saint-Nazareth, she forced her own daughter to marry a wealthy merchant much older than her, do you still think she is a good person?"
Sister Teresa lowered her head and, with a smile, held up a finger toward Fisher,
"This question seems a bit too difficult to consider, unable to find an answer immediately. So let's quantify this question, alright? This is the number one. If this 'one' represents absolute kindness and wisdom, while its corresponding 'zero' is absolute vileness and ignorance, what do you suppose we must do to achieve this 'one'?"
In her embrace, Fisher pondered quietly. And the Teresa holding up one finger also withdrew her hand at this moment, pondering along with him. But as time ticked by minute by minute, her expression also became increasingly troubled.
"Oh my, what kind of guy is a person represented by this 'one' exactly? Little Fisher, you are very smart, so do you think you can become this 'one'? If you can't, then who do you think can become this 'one'?"
"Regrettably, the way each of us views this world is different. The criteria for judging this so-called 'one' also vary. But it's always been impossible to construct an existence that perfect in reality. Or rather, if such a perfect guy truly existed in this world, it absolutely wouldn't be human. Because even gods commit massive blunders, much less us who are far inferior to gods..."
Staying in Sister Teresa's embrace, the little Fisher buried his face into Sister Teresa's chest with a bit of a headache. From there, an indistinct voice rang out,
"Yeah... it sounds like trying to make everyone become smart is simply too difficult. I'm tired, let it all be destroyed... but as long as you aren't destroyed, Teresa, that's fine."
Sister Teresa reached back and cupped little Fisher's face—which was buried in her chest—lifting it up. Looking at him, she said,
"Do you still remember the story I read to you when you were little, about humanity hunting the giant dragon?"
"The Mother Goddess made humanity undergo agonizing trials in the mortal realm. One day, a giant dragon arrived before humanity. Seeing how they suffered and shackled themselves, it bewitched them, offering to bestow its dragon blood upon them, forcing them to abandon their human identity to obtain absolute rationality and power. That way, ignorance and fragility would no longer exist."
"At this time, a great sage of humanity stepped forward, saying to the giant dragon, 'Although what you say is very correct, giant dragon, if we do as you say, can we still be called humans? Can we still be called the children of the Mother Goddess?' Consequently, the rejected giant dragon flew into a rage out of shame and wanted to destroy all of humanity. But unexpectedly, the Mother Goddess threw down a giant spear from the sky and killed the giant dragon."
Fisher curled his lip. Looking at Sister Teresa, he said speechlessly,
"This is definitely a made-up story, right?"
"Mm-hm, I know that. But the reasoning behind it is very obvious, isn't it, little Fisher?"
Teresa's blonde hair cascaded downward bit by bit along her nun's habit. She slowly extended her fist toward the little Fisher before her, smiling as she said,
"For humanity, truth that settles things once and for all does not exist, nor does perfection reached in a single bound. Flawed beings are what humanity is, and the wise must lead such imperfect beings to constantly and boundlessly approach that perfect 'one'..."
"Little Fisher possesses such outstanding talent, you will definitely walk ahead of everyone else. The ignorant will call you 'rebellious,' those on different paths will call you 'mortal enemy,' and the unclear, "correct" paths before you will be like the 'giant dragon' full of bewitchment."
The fist she placed before Fisher didn't move in the slightest. The ripples of the dream spread out bit by bit, yet it felt as if leaving a profound mark within the young Fisher's heart. She merely said,
"Even though the Mother Goddess might not exist, your steadfastness as a human will always be hidden within your heart. That is the true longspear that slays the bewitching giant dragon; it is the unique weapon of us weak ones. Thus, the way you handled facing a bad person today was correct. How could I punish you?"
"Alright, alright, let's sneak back, the two of us, so Father Lyman doesn't catch us. What do you want to eat tonight? I'll make it for you. Also, it seems Father Lyman recently bought some books about magic, specially prepared for you. Those are works written by Mr. Helson, the Grand Mage. You'll have to thank Father Lyman properly later on..."
The figure of Teresa leading little Fisher grew further and further away, until that beautiful illusion swallowed her back entirely, rendering her completely out of sight. Only that intermittent toll of the dilapidated bell continued to ring out.
"Bong! Bong! Bong!"
"Bong! Bong! Bong!"
At exactly the same time, as the bell within the dream tolled anew, it interrupted the tender moment between the Phoenix-transformed Valentiina and Fisher in her arms. Because right now, they still faced an extremely powerful enemy.
"Fisher, are you alright? Sorry, I just saw the Phoenixes' Base. They gave me their bloodlines, so I came a bit late..."
"It's alright, as long as you're safe..."
Fisher sat up from within Valentiina's embrace. First, he cast a glance at Erwind—who had fully recovered almost immediately after being hit by Valentiina. He roughly estimated Valentiina's current soul intensity. Her soul had completely transformed into the semblance of a Phoenix; judging from her attack speed just now, she should be around the twelfth or thirteenth tier. Yet such an attack remained completely ineffective against Erwind, akin to a mere scratch.
No wonder even Eliog had to bring the Death Rune to deal with him. But this was the Crevice within the dream; the Death Rune couldn't be brought in. And Fisher wanted to construct it, but feared his own brain would directly explode if he did.
Fisher fell silent for a second. He turned his head and looked at the back of Sister Teresa leading the young him further and further away. Only after the gates to the church school were completely shut did he redirect his gaze onto the Erwind before him.
"Valentiina, I need a little time right now. A Fourteenth-Circle magic isn't enough to kill him; I need a magic with even greater power."
"Ah, but your current state is very poor, do you want to..."
Valentiina spread her wings, vacating space for him to assume a combat stance. But she evidently also noticed that Fisher's soul state was not considered good at the moment, so she spoke up to remind him thusly.
But Fisher simply shook his head. Looking at the Erwind draped in the fluttering pure white cape before him, he said,
"If we rest any longer, the two of us will really end up dying for love right here... Be careful, I need a little time."
"Mm."
With that said, Fisher slowly began to construct two entirely different Circle Heads in his hands: [Lightning] and [Destruction]. The process of engraving a dual-circle-head magic required utmost vigilance and caution. Even Mentor Helson had to be equally careful. And Valentiina no longer pressed with questions; she merely sharply raised her wings and looked at the distant Erwind.
A great battle was on the verge of outbreak.
Valentiina violently spread her wings and soared into the air, yet Erwind's bird-beak mask remained utterly motionless. He merely kept staring at Fisher standing in place, feeling his rapidly recovering mana, and muttered,
"Such soul recovery capability... is it the Soul Completion Handbook, or the Magic Completion Handbook?"
With that said, he spread his arms. Ignoring the Valentiina preparing to launch an offensive at him entirely, he charged straight towards Fisher.
"Get back!"
Valentiina, her wings spread, broke through the wind and struck. Erwind gently tapped the ground. His entire body became slender and elusive like silk threads. His flesh scattered strand by strand, each thread fluttering in the violent gale brought by Valentiina's strike. Then, those threads tightly gripped onto her flying wings, violently yanking her down onto the ground.
Momentum kept her moving forward along the ground at an extremely fast speed, dragging out an extremely long distance.
"Just having become a Phoenix... No, just having freed yourself of a disability, you want to fly before you've even learned how to run? That is much too wildly imaginative."
Erwind's cold voice rang out. The Valentiina flung onto the ground shrank her pupils, immediately flapping her wings once. The next second, an extremely thick flesh-and-blood whip whipped towards her face, smashing the ground into shattered fragments.
Valentiina hovered in midair, only to realize that Erwind—who had launched that strike—had absolutely no intention of paying her any mind. Instead, he made a mad dash straight towards Fisher, seemingly not having put her in his eyes at all.
This guy...
Valentiina raised her hand, expending soul energy to materialize a handy longsword in her hand. Afterward, she spread her wings and struck once more. Fisher calmly watched the approaching Erwind, backing up violently. The magic light gripped in his hand swayed faintly as well.
"Clang, clang!"
Chiming collision sounds exploded before the crude church school. From Erwind's back, countless hard organs resembling crab legs abruptly stood up, moving at extreme speeds to block and hack at Valentiina attacking from behind. Yet he continued to chase the Fisher before him. The ground of the dreamscape cracked bit by bit. And just as this stalemate was meant to continue, Erwind's body abruptly paused. His entire body twisted ninety degrees, and one hand grabbed the sword in Valentiina's hand.
"Crack, crack, crack!"
That fragile weapon violently snapped. And Valentiina—who hadn't fully mastered her flight techniques—crashed uncontrollably toward Erwind.
"Caught you."
Seeing that she couldn't dodge in time, Valentiina gritted her teeth, gave a loud shout, and flapped her wings once more. An extremely strong impetus shoved Erwind and Fisher up into the air together. In mid-air, Erwind retracted the flesh-and-blood limbs he had grown earlier, subsequently growing a pair of giant fleshy wings instead, initiating a speed race in mid-air with Valentiina, who was flying while carrying Fisher.
Following two successive sonic booms, Erwind, who was behind Valentiina, arrived in front of her in an instant at a speed many times faster than hers. The speed was so fast it exceeded Valentiina's imagination. In her True-Ice-hued pupils, that cold, emotionless bird-beak mask drew closer and closer. This meant that Erwind—who originally only wanted to find Fisher—had finally developed killing intent toward Valentiina as well.
"You sought death yourself; don't blame me."
Valentiina's pupils shrank slightly. Only now did she realize exactly what kind of monster the enemy Fisher was facing truly was. But显然, waking up to the reality at this moment was too late.
Erwind's hands elongated like iron pincers, gripping Valentiina's wings. The next second, an immense force arrived, seeking to rip her to shreds along with her wings and body. Fisher, who was being carried in flight by her, noticed this scene. Gritting his teeth, he flipped over to proactively charge at Erwind.
"Erwind!"
Seeing Fisher proactively come over, Erwind violently struck Valentiina's back with a palm, burying her deeply into the ground. Then, with a flap of his fleshy wings, he grabbed the approaching Fisher, smashing downward all the way through the crude church school below.
"Rumble!"
"Cough, cough!"
Following the massive spray of smoke and dust, an incomparably huge crater was smashed solidly into the exact center of the entire school. However, space did not shatter again. Pinned beneath him, Fisher bled from almost all seven orifices. That wasn't just caused by Erwind's smashing; his own mana was truly overexerted.
"Fisher, do you truly understand what the meaning of the Completion Handbooks' existence is? That is a path leading to the 【Ultimate True Truth】, the sole answer capable of helping humanity break free of ignorance and frailty! I gave up so much and waited so long, simply to reach that destination... I believe that by relying on the truth, I will lead all of humanity to cast off the pursuit of ignorance. Only on that day, when everyone becomes rational and no longer commits mistakes driven by desires, will I finally be satisfied."
Fisher, pinned to the ground by him, coughed a sentence. He didn't respond to Erwind's words, but instead looked around at the center of the school blown apart by Erwind's sheer power. Beside the bell tower, which stood perfectly intact nearby, the figure of the nun in black was so familiar.
Only at this moment did he suddenly feel that, no matter how much he didn't want to admit it, that nun had subtly exerted an immeasurable influence perfectly upon him. Those church classics he always sneered at had actually long been etched into his mind.
Immediately after, he seemed to verbalize words he had never spoken before. Facing Erwind, he said,
"I too have witnessed the filth you speak of. I too have recognized the ignorance of the many who are inferior to us. But ultimately, in the end, I did not walk the same path as you. Because I was fortunate enough to have encountered those who, albeit ignorant, shone brightly. She made me deeply realize that fragile lives unable to achieve perfection, yet ceaselessly and endlessly approaching it day by day, is the very essence of humanity itself. But you, Erwind, have already strayed far away from this concept of humanity."
"Because I understand you through the misfortune of the events you've encountered, and also because I cannot agree with you due to the different choices you made after being bewitched by the giant dragon... But you know, the condemning speeches and writings of scholars aren't the thing to be done right now. Better to let pain or death be a bit more direct."
Fisher gave a faint smile and collapsed to the ground. He gazed at the figure of the nun leading the little Fisher further and further away. In his eyes, Teresa's image changed bit by bit. She was as bright and sunny as she was when he was a child. Within the dream, she seemingly noticed the grown-up Fisher lying in the giant crater, and seemingly also saw the completed dual-circle-head magic gripped within his hand...
The completion of that magic proved that Fisher had already become an extremely rare Magic Master within the human world. He was the second human Magician alive today, after Helson, capable of constructing dual-circle-head magic.
Teresa, holding little Fisher's hand, smiled proudly at the grown-up Fisher, then extended her hand toward him, as if saying,
"Throw your unwavering spear at the giant dragon that bewitched humanity!"
Erwind looked down in astonishment, only to see that in Fisher's hand, a radiance rivaling the Mythic Rank had already materialized. And its honorable name was:
Tenth-Circle Dual-Circle-Head Magic, [Killing Dragonspear]!