The Handbook for Completing Demi-Human Girls

Chapter 388: Renee is Here

"How am I going to get back from the Northlands? Oh right, did I forget to leave my contact information for that Fisher guy? How is he going to contact me later? So troublesome... why can't I just die..."

In the vast expanse of white snow, the Death Minister, who had walked quite a distance away, raised his wine flask in the snow and took a swig of strong liquor. It wasn't until the freezing wind hit his head that the drunkenness he felt back in the church receded a bit, and he suddenly thought of the problem currently plaguing him.

He patted his head. Realizing After the Fact, he prepared to turn back to the Defiled Church they were just at to leave his contact info for Fisher. While he was at it, it would be best if he could borrow a few Northland silver coins too; taking a ship back from here was quite expensive. He had spent all the money he previously carried on tobacco and alcohol, forgetting to save a little for travel fare back.

It had to be said, someone who could even easily dismiss life and death probably wouldn't care much about anything else either. The Death Minister was a perfect example of this.

Just as he raised his hand to take a few more gulps of alcohol and look back, a bizarre-looking Bunting flashing with purple light swiftly flew past right above his forehead. This was the first time the Death Minister had ever seen such a miraculous bird.

"How beautiful..."

But he didn't pay it much mind. He just shook his head, preparing to set off again. However, when he turned his head, he suddenly saw a person and a book rushing towards him from ahead. The person leading the way had a slender figure and a grim facial expression... If that wasn't Fischer Benavides, whom he had just met in the Defiled Church, who was it?

Such good luck? He was just about to go looking for him and here he comes?

"Fish—"

"Sorry, emergency."The Death Minister deliberately coughed and waved to Fisher. As a result, right after he uttered his first syllable, Fisher swiftly blew past him, following that Bunting. Following closely behind, Eimhart, flying at an extreme speed, also brushed past his ear. This caused the already-tipsy Death Minister to sit Dizzy and Confused in the snow. Somewhat puzzled, he turned to look at the back of Fisher, who despite his weak body was still running blazingly fast. Taking a mouthful of liquor, he muttered,

"A dying man, yet he's still chasing after something... Is it that important?"

He patted the broken snow off his black leather coat and stood up, then slowly started running in the direction Fisher went.

And beneath the leather coat he threw back, streaks of distorted, blue-green luster faintly shimmered. Looking closely, one could see translucent threads bound to the inside of his body. Upon those threads, it was as if the destiny of the entire world was surging.

Only about a kilometer away from this spot, within a snow-covered forest, a lady who seemed impervious to the cold was wearing nothing but a not-so-heavy Carduan-style black dress. Her long, soft black hair was tied up with an elegant Carduan hair accessory, and she wore a white flower of unknown species on top of her head.

In the forest blanketed by winter snow, a faint, delicate fragrance lingered, intoxicating like the most profound vintage wine in the world—just like the deep purple eyes of the woman currently running.

If not the bad woman Fisher longed for day and night, Renee, who could it be?

"Um, could you please stop chasing me? I really can't run anymore, you know..."

"Mother Goddess... You have the aura of the Mother Goddess on you! Quickly, tell me how you did it?!"

Her footsteps were sprightly. To be honest, her movement through the forest was more akin to floating than running. In the midst of this rapid movement, she seemed to register something. Tapping her red lips in slight distress, she looked back over her shoulder without slowing down in the slightest. Not far behind her, two raggedly-dressed middle-aged men were charging madly towards her.

On the tattered clothes of those two middle-aged men, a deep purple mark of the Witch Research Society could still be faintly seen. The Witch Research Society was born from the ancient Cardo Holy Church, so its hierarchy also strictly mimicked the Holy Church's rules, using stars beneath the mark to symbolize their respective statuses. Although these two middle-aged men were dressed in rags, there were six stars below their marks. This indicated that their status was not low—they were roughly at the elder rank.

Recall that when Fisher was previously at the Sema Mountains, he had bumped into the corpses of Witch Research Society members. Ever since the previous president of the Witch Research Society was killed there by a Giant Troll guarded the Wutong Tree wielding a giant lance, several of his most loyal followers had been searching the mountains for traces of him. Who could have expected that an internal rebellion would break out far away at the Witch Research Society headquarters in Cardu, resulting in a direct change of leadership.

Setting aside the situation of the Witch Research Society within Cardu's borders for the time being, the two middle-aged men currently chasing Renee were none other than the Witch Research Society elders who had previously been searching for the former president on the snowy mountain.

During their patrol of the mountain, they found the member who had died halfway up the mountain while delivering a letter. Although the letter he was transporting had been casually tossed off a cliff by Fisher, they roughly guessed that something had happened at the headquarters. Consequently, they had no choice but to abandon their search for the former president and travel down the mountain to return to Cardu. But who could have foreseen that an incident would occur while they were within the borders of the Sardin Woman's Country.

Not only had they unexpectedly run into the people dispatched by the current Witch Research Society president to dispose of them, but they also bumped into a peculiar Witch possessing the aura of the Mother Goddess. This was the catalyst for the present chase scene through the forest.

Hearing the near-lunatic ravings of the two elders behind her, Renee curled her lip in exasperation. Turning her head, she glanced behind the two middle-aged men. Over a dozen pursuers dispatched by the current Witch Research Society to eliminate these two elders were following them. Then, she turned her head back to gaze southward. Even though her expression remained completely unchanged, her voice sounded so Evoking Pity From All.

"Wuu wuu, stop chasing me! I can't beat you guys... Help! Somebody's bullying me! Fisher! Wuu wuu wuu, I'm so scared! Come save me quickly!"

"What Fisher?! Stop right fucking now, or else we're going to use magic!"

"Elder Falut, Elder Quico! President Kazawood only wants to invite you back to Cardu! Stop right there! Stop running!"

The pursuers behind them were getting closer and closer. The eyes of the two former elders, driven into a corner, were bloodshot. President Kazawood had never gotten along with them in the past. If these remnants of the previous regime returned now, they probably wouldn't even be left with intact corpses.

However, facing this bizarre Witch before them who possessed clues regarding the Mother Goddess, the two decided to Put All Eggs In One Basket. Gritting their teeth, they raised both hands and aimed them at the back of the black-haired woman who was running ahead. Simultaneously, the magical radiance of two medieval-era spells began to gather.

"Swoosh!"

Yet right at this critical juncture, a flowing, quicksilver-like blade violently lunged out from the nearby woods, piercing through the hands of one of the elders in the blink of an eye. As a spray of blood splattered everywhere, the expressions of the two men changed. They looked to the side in shock, but they were immediately met by a book flashing entirely in golden light, a full size larger than a human head, flying rapidly toward their faces. It smashed directly into the face of the other uninjured elder.

"There's someone else?"

"It's your Grandpa Eimhart!"

Up ahead, the running Renee seemed to feel something and hastily turned to look to the side. What caught her eye—unseen for a long time—was a gentleman from Nari with one hand leaning against a large tree, panting continually. Although he looked different from his strong, healthy image of the past, he just quietly held up the extending Fluid Sword in his hand, his eyes resting entirely on the beautiful lady with black hair.

He coughed twice, waiting until he almost saw through the beautiful lady before him. Despite being extremely exhausted, he still formed a slight smile and retracted the extending Fluid Sword in his hand.

"Renee, you're back... Cough cough..."

"Fisher!"

Before Renee's gleeful expression could fully form, it faded a bit. Her deep purple eyes slightly narrowed as she evaluated Fisher and the seemingly empty space behind him, as if she possessed the ability to see something lingering there at his back.

Subsequently, her eyebrows knitted together a little. She opened her mouth and was just about to say something when, behind the two elders—who were either clutching their hands and wailing or holding their heads and groaning in pain—dozens of members wearing the Witch Research Society uniforms, wielding magic, firearms, and swords, surrounded the area with hostile expressions.

"Keep running, why don't you—Eh, this is..."

The person leading the charge kicked a former elder who was crawling on the ground. When he lifted his eyes to look at Renee, his breathing suddenly grew Unbelievable and ragged. It was as if this person emanated a thick aura of the Mother Goddess's glory, one that not even the Witches favored by the Mother Goddess had ever possessed. He instantly released the former elder beneath his foot and took two steps towards Renee, his eyes gradually turning crimson.

"The Mother Goddess's blessing... Where did you get that? Tell us right now!"

Realizing After the Fact, Renee shifted her gaze away from Fisher. After pausing for a couple of seconds, as if she were terribly frightened by the ferocious Witch Research Society members before her, she took a step back and said,

"H-How should I know? I'm just an ordinary Witch... W-Who are you people? Fisher, I'm scared..."

"An ordinary Witch? Hehe, then that makes things easy..."

Just as the leading Witch Research Society member Harbor Ill Intentions and prepared to advance, Fisher was already in front of Renee. As that familiar, enchanting scent wafted to his nose, he unaccountably breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced back over his shoulder at the pitiful-looking Renee hiding behind him, then turned his head to look at Eimhart flying back.

"Eimhart, Cough cough... Get ready to move."

Eimhart nodded his head, his eyes simultaneously scrutinizing the beautiful woman hiding behind Fisher whom he was seeing for the first time. She looked like just a very ordinary Witch, so she was probably another one of Fisher's ex-girlfriends, right?

"Move? You're sick to this point yet you still want to go somewhere? Need us to gift you a wheelchair or something?"

After these words, the Witch Research Society members in front had already begun to sneer coldly, raising their firearms at Fisher. Fisher let out a cough, the Fluid Sword in his hand leaping a few times, visibly storing energy, ready to strike.

"Mr. Fisher, wait! Goodness, you too! You're a dying man, why push yourself so hard?! What am I supposed to do if you die? I'm coming to help you—"

Right when the two sides were On The Verge Of Outbreak, the heavily intoxicated Death Minister suddenly appeared on a hill in the direction Fisher had come from. While bellowing at Fisher below, he reached down to unfasten his trench coat, causing Fisher to raise his eyebrows, wondering if the man's drunkenness was leading him to commit perverted acts in broad daylight.

But beyond all expectations, as the Death Minister's leather trench coat was unbuttoned, those translucent blue-green threads bound all over his body were instantly exposed. Both the Witch Research Society and Fisher were utterly confused as to what they were, but exactly the opposite happened for Eimhart hovering by Fisher's shoulder. His expression slightly changed, and he shrieked at Fisher,

"That guy is an idiot! That's the Elf-kin's 'Universe Square Axis Artifact'! Does he want to blow McDowell to smithereens?! Quickly, make him stop! That madman!"

Fisher harbored no doubts regarding Eimhart's words. However, the Witch Research Society members in front of them laughed derisively, unaware if the group before them was performing some circus act.

"Go to hell! Elf-kin? Bragging too hard... Go and die!"

His finger rapidly pulled the trigger. Fisher's pupils contracted slightly. From the hilltop in the distance, a dangerous aura of Destiny reverberated, and the firearm before him abruptly erupted with dazzling muzzle flash. His Fluid Sword stopped in mid-air, but his body stepped sideways, entirely shielding Renee behind him, leaving absolutely no chance of her being hit.

The Death Minister!!

At this critical juncture, the purple hue in the eyes of Renee hiding behind Fisher deepened drastically, appearing as if it contained a remarkably vast galaxy. She casually cast a glance towards the Death Minister in the distance, whose threads were slowly flashing and pulsating with light. The very next heartbeat, the threads on the Death Minister's body violently dimmed. It was as if his brain had received a devastating blow as the Death Minister staggered and tumbled to the ground, instantly losing consciousness.

"Bang!"

"Rene—"

The muzzle flash of the firearm exploded before them. Just as Fisher's Fluid Sword was about to extend and block the projectile, Renee gently reached out and grabbed onto Fisher. Under his astonished gaze, the two of them were simultaneously enveloped by layers of purple light, turning illusory. The bullet passed cleanly through their bodies while they simultaneously flashed towards the distance at astonishing speeds.

"Fisher!!"

At first, Eimhart honestly thought Fisher was going to eat a bullet, nearly scaring his very soul out of his body. Turning his head to take another look, he saw that the Witch named 'Renee' had already grabbed Fisher and run off far away, leaving only him to rot back on the scene.

Eimhart blankly opened his mouth, turning his head to exchange a bewildered look with the Witch Research Society members, who were similarly rooted to the spot. Then, furious to the extremest degree, he swore incessantly while rapidly flying off in the direction Renee had departed in.

"Ah geez, this Witch really isn't a good person! Fisher! I haven't caught up to you yet!"

The sky grew later bit by bit. The low-hanging sunlight was slowly being Completely Devoured by the sky, and soon, only a bit of a crimson tail remained in the outer layer of the distant horizon. Slowly stepping in to replace the light was the profound, boundless color of the night.

The Witch Research Society members holding firearms stared in disbelief at the increasingly distant Witch Renee. The leader impatiently spat on the ground beside him, cast a careless glance at the two former elders prostrate on the ground, and ordered his subordinates behind him,

"Forget about those two for now. Knock them out and tie them up here. Forget about that lunatic on the hill, too... The most important thing right now is that Witch. The dense blessing of the Mother Goddess on her body absolutely cannot be faked. We must bring her back to Cardu at all costs. Go, everyone follow! Capture them!"

"Yes, Elder Ham!"

As the deep moonlight slowly fell, this group of fully armed religious fanatics from Cardo sprinted rapidly into the distance in the direction Renee had fled.