novelraw Chapter 407: Undetermined Gender
Chapter 407: Undetermined Gender
"No demons?"
"Ah, I'm quite certain, this race completely doesn't exist."
Fisher blinked his eyes and carefully scrutinized Gou Wen's current expression. After confirming he wasn't joking, his heart couldn't help but jolt again down inside.
The history of demons should be extremely ancient. Demons were imprisoned beneath the Abyss as a whole race during the Mythical War between three to four thousand years ago, while the Phoenix Race resisted the invasion of Chaos in the Northern Realm around five thousand years ago.
Fisher wasn't very clear on the specific divisions of history before that. The only thing he knew was that before then, the dragons had once stolen the roots of the World Tree, because it was only after that did the phoenixes migrate their entire race from the Eastern Continent to the Northern Realm...
Then, if demons weren't created by Ramastia from the very beginning, when exactly did they appear?
Fisher's expression changed slightly, wanting to ask a few more questions about demons and the World Tree to determine the exact time right now. Yet in the next moment, a female voice abruptly rang out behind him.
"What demons? Is this some interesting human story?"
Fisher's words choked in his throat. Turning to look, he unexpectedly found a smiling Helaire silently appearing behind his back. Looking again at Gou Wen and Asuka Karasawa, they also looked at Helaire with astonished expressions, having absolutely no idea when she had arrived.
Fisher paused for a moment, then shook his head and said,"No, it's nothing. We can set off now?"
A sliver of disappointment appeared on Helaire's beautiful face. Crossing her arms, she spoke with an expression that said "it's such a pity I couldn't watch a spectacle",
"Humans are truly... so fond of burying any little secrets they have inside their hearts. No matter what, I'm standing on your side right now. How can I help you if you don't properly curry favor with me?"
"What is there about us humans over here that's worth Lord Helaire's attention?"
"Oh my, I couldn't possibly be audacious enough to claim the title of 'Lord'."
Although she said this, Helaire still covered her mouth and smiled without the slightest intention of declining. She instead continued walking forward while saying,
"To be precise, it's not just me; Lord Sariel and Lord Remiel are also paying close attention to you. I just went to see Lord Sariel earlier, and she assigned me loads and loads of tasks, which has given me quite a headache..."
Fisher followed Helaire's footsteps toward the cylindrical passageway at the end of the trial grounds here, with Gou Wen and Asuka Karasawa following suit behind him.
In Fisher's mind, the appearances of those Archangels from earlier flashed by. Very quickly, he discovered many points worthy of scrutiny. For instance, putting aside Gabriel who possessed entirely no clear lucid consciousness, the other six seemed to not get along well with each other. That Michael was the most arrogant; Sariel and Remiel appeared to be a faction; and the remaining three were another faction.
At this moment, Gou Wen beside him stroked his chin, beating Fisher to the punch as he speculated,
"Hmm, is it because of the Angel Michael?"
Helaire looked at Gou Wen with a smile, wearing an expression of admiration.
"Quite smart..."
Gou Wen shook his head and replied,
"You flatter me... Because according to the division among the Heavens, the Angel Michael manages the most crucial power of the Sanctuary, which is the forging of Holy Artifacts and warfare. This not only signifies that he possesses extraordinary abilities in both these paths simultaneously, but also indicates he holds near-absolute speaking authority over them. Weapons of war are rarely drawn among fellow kin, but regarding the forging methods that all angels love and excel in, his dictatorial nature will obviously make things hard for the other angels."
Helaire nodded, taking over Gou Wen's words and saying,
"Exactly, exactly. Since you already understand the reasoning behind this, then I won't waste words, and convey Lord Sariel's intentions to you: Hand the forging method over to her instead of Michael. This way, she will ensure your safety and allow you to leave the Sanctuary peacefully. Furthermore, other than that, she can also promise you one other condition. When the time comes, just feel free to mention it."
Gou Wen stopped speaking. Asuka Karasawa was completely unable to interject or make a decision, so they all looked at Fisher.
He pondered for a moment, then opened his mouth to ask Helaire,
"But we're going to the Fifth Heaven to see Michael immediately right now. I'm afraid we won't have the opportunity to make that choice, right?"
"Don't worry. As far as I know, he currently has a treasure on hand that hasn't finished forging yet. He has always been focused on forging. Without finishing the item on hand, he absolutely will not move on to research the next item. Until then, you can delay him by using a basically impossible forging requirement to deceive him, like... a World Tree Teardrop or something. But don't speak absolutely. You just have to emphasize that you can forge it, and besides, aren't I here?"
"..."
Fisher's body stiffened slightly, but he didn't express interest or shock at Helaire mentioning the World Tree Teardrop. This was because he worried these angels would thereby notice the connection between conscious Holy Artifacts and World Tree Teardrops. He would just wait until later to ask Gou Wen about it.
But since Helaire said this, didn't that also mean the World Tree Teardrop was extremely precious and not easily obtainable? And currently, he held one such teardrop preserved within his Completion Handbook.
Pausing for a moment, Fisher finally continued speaking,
"So, you're Angel Sariel's subordinate?"
"Yes and no. I am an angel who acts independently across the Seven Heavens, responsible for acting as the bridge between them. It's just that right now, the entire Sanctuary has suffered under Angel Michael for a long time, so I inevitably have to show a bit of inclination, that's all... If you insist on me having some sort of motive, it's merely to find a bit of amusement."
"Amusement?"
Fisher seemed completely unable to comprehend the meaning behind her words, but Helaire had already led them to the entrance of that cylindrical passageway. She didn't respond to Fisher's question again, merely extending a hand and saying,
"Please."
Without waiting for Helaire to make any moves, Gou Wen had already quite consciously jumped into the cylindrical passageway, dissolving into a stream of light and vanishing. Asuka Karasawa also raised her hand and said,
"This time... I'll do it myself this time..."
With that, she took several deep breaths, closed her eyes, and charged into the passageway. Very quickly, she too dissolved into a stream of light and vanished.
Fisher didn't move for the moment. Instead, he suddenly looked at Helaire's back beside him and thought of something.
It seemed he had momentarily forgotten the matter of binding an angel. After all, the angels he had encountered thus far weren't considered friendly. In contrast, Helaire was actually a pretty good research target instead.
In Fisher's line of sight, rows of illusory text floated out of thin air. Yet in the next second, the expected identifiable golden glow didn't appear in his gaze toward Helaire. Only several seconds later did the Demi-Human Girl Completion Handbook bring out a prompt Fisher had never seen before for the first time:
【No researchable Demi-Human Girl target detected, please try again.】
Cannot bind for research?
Why?
Fisher's pupils contracted slightly. Before he could react, his body flew toward the passageway entirely out of his control. Accompanying this was Helaire's teasing voice.
"What's wrong? Is it because I didn't grab onto you like when we came up?"
"Weng weng weng!"
In the next moment, Helaire also leapt forward, disappearing into the stream of light together with Fisher.
"Weng weng weng!"
As the stream of light carrying Fisher plummeted down from under the celestial dome, they soon stopped on a not-so-wide, suspended white slab road. That familiar dizzy sensation made Fisher's brain somewhat lethargic, while Asuka Karasawa had long since crouched on the ground dry heaving. Holding her stomach, she said,
"It's... so hot here... so hot..."
"Of course it is, after all, this is where the 【Sun Ring】 is situated."
At this moment, Fisher's group saw the massive, white suspended architectural complex floating in the cosmos before their eyes, all brightly illuminated by the sun's radiance. Asuka Karasawa looked up and immediately discovered an exceedingly colossal circular ring suspended in the sky, constructed by some unknown power.
The two ends of that ring were each connected to an exceptionally wide stone pillar. From Asuka Karasawa's vantage point, those hundred-meter-wide stone pillars didn't descend to the ground, but instead seemed to endlessly stretch toward the horizon.
Asuka Karasawa quickly realized those weren't pillars at all, but strange structures suspended in the cosmos, wrapping the entire planet for a full lap. Right in the very center of that ring, the star acting as this planet's light source—the 【Sun】—was reflected in the extreme distance.
Standing here, a feeling of insignificance when looked down upon by the universe would uncontrollably rise from the heart, making Asuka Karasawa instantly zone out. Stiffly standing in place, it was the first time she looked so closely at such a magnificent spectacle of another world. But before that spectacle lasted for a second, her vision was suddenly filled entirely by an incredibly beautiful angel's face. It was precisely Helaire.
"Looking continuously at the Sun Ring like this will damage human eyes, little one... Oh? What's wrong?"
Startled by the abruptly appearing Helaire, Asuka Karasawa, face red, backed up several steps. Her flustered appearance, like a small animal, made the originally normally speaking Helaire's smile grow increasingly thicker, as if a certain hunter had their interest piqued upon seeing traces of blood.
It seemed she saw something interesting.
"Um... No, I just thought big sister angel looks really pretty..."
"Big sister? Although being praised is a very happy thing, actually, I'm not a big sister yet..."
"Eh?"
Asuka Karasawa momentarily failed to grasp the meaning of the other party's words. Beside her, Fisher and Gou Wen also turned their heads to look at her.
"Lord Chain of Heaven granted us perfect bodies, therefore we do not have genders like normal living beings. But after all, every angel's personality differs, having a certain degree of leaning towards either male or female, so we also have one chance to choose whether to become male or female."
"Only, besides Lord Gabriel and a small number of compatriots who have already made their choice, most angels, including myself, haven't chosen to transform yet, because to us, this sort of thing is completely inconsequential. Unless we encounter something worth doing so... But your eye is quite good, little one. I am indeed an angel who leans towards being female."
So that was how it is. No wonder the Demi-Human Girl Completion Handbook couldn't bind Helaire just now; it turned out she hadn't established the gender of her body yet, thus not judged as a "Demi-Human Girl" by the Completion Handbook.
Otherwise, even a Tier 18 Demon God like Eliog could be bound. There was no reason Helaire, whose tier should be considerably lower, couldn't be bound.
Smiling, Helaire walked in front of them, seemingly completely oblivious to the thoughtful scrutiny of Fisher behind her. She merely continued introducing to Asuka Karasawa,
"As for the Sun Ring... We are a race that delights the most in forging in this world, and the only existence capable of forging 【Gospel Relics】. Forging relics has three prerequisites: a massive natural energy source, an excellent medium, and profound forging skills and techniques. The Sanctuary is filled with an omnipresent artificial medium named 【Aether】. This medium was created by Lord Michael, and is the medium best suited for forging Holy Artifacts. After all, using any gas as a medium is far too weak; before this, many angels even used water as a medium..."
"And the Sun Ring, which was also designed by Lord Michael, is a tool that can efficiently extract power from the solar energy source to the maximum. Ever since this thing was created, the speed at which we forge Holy Artifacts has gotten a lot faster... The environment here just seems a bit hot to other living beings, but they two should both be fine."
Gou Wen stroked his chin and nodded, opening his mouth to say,
"So the effects attached to those miraculous items are 【Gospels】. I'm truly curious as to how you manage to make these items possess such miraculous effects..."
Hearing this, Helaire regretfully shook her head and said,
"Pity, I might be the only angel in the Sanctuary who doesn't know how to forge Holy Artifacts, so I can't answer too much for you. This way. Michael's residence is located dead center underneath the Sun Ring."
They followed a road quite similar to the other Heavens, either floating or walking slowly toward the dead center of the Fifth Heaven. Here was already a considerable distance away from the planet. Asuka Karasawa looked at the massive planet below. With the sun and the Sun Ring above, and the cosmos and the planet below, the sensation of being squeezed from above and below made her feel extremely uncomfortable. Not long after, her head spun, her footsteps swayed, and she was about to fall sideways.
Gou Wen wasn't paying attention when he saw a girl falling in his direction, scaring him into subconsciously retreating quite a distance. Fortunately, Fisher reached out in time to grab her arm, preventing her from falling over.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm... I'm fine. Thank you, Mr. Fisher."
"Mm."
Fisher let go of her arm again and walked forward. Asuka Karasawa pursed her lips and hurriedly only stared at the floor tiles, no longer looking anywhere else.
The Fifth Heaven was clearly much livelier than the other Heavens. The incessant sounds of metal clanging echoed endlessly all around them. Turning his head, Fisher could see the figures of numerous angels within some buildings at a glance. It made him feel like basically all the angels in the entire Sanctuary were here, which indirectly verified that the angels truly were a race that loved forging very much, though he didn't know where this passion came from.
"We're here."
Helaire quickly brought Fisher and the others before an elegantly designed building. No angel stood guard there, but a terrifying scorching presence continuously seeped out from within.
In the center of the room, that tall Archangel Michael donned in white robes was silently staring at a bizarre vessel in his hands that exuded terrifying high temperatures.
Just as Helaire said, most angels hadn't settled their genders, perhaps even lacking any leanings towards male or female. Thus, their behaviors and appearances all displayed an extremely bizarre androgynous beauty, like some sort of extremely elegant and complex artwork.
"Lord Archangel Michael, I have brought these Transferred Persons here."
Helaire didn't step a foot inside, merely standing at the threshold and respectfully bowing.
But Michael didn't reply at all. He just placed that high-temperature vessel back onto the forging table before him, picked up a golden short hammer placed beside his white robes, and began inspecting the vessel up and down, seemingly contemplating how to begin forging it.
"Hey, you guys, it's best not to stand outside while he's forging. Find somewhere to hide. Standing here is very dangerous; even the other angels don't dare to come near. Why are you..."
At this exact moment, a sentence constructed from extremely weird language suddenly rang out from not far away. Fisher had never heard such a weird language before, but it seemed this wasn't his first time encountering something like this since coming here, so naturally he didn't find it strange.
Helaire turned her head in astonishment, opening her mouth to say,
"Oh my, this is truly... Other angels might know, but who asked for the one bringing them to be the only Angel-kin in the entire Sanctuary who doesn't know how to forge?"
Fisher and the others also turned to look, only to see a peculiarly-looking man standing on the second floor of a certain building. That man was around thirty years old, tall, sporting short black hair and a scruffy, three-dimensional, gaunt face. But the weird thing was, there were also lines imprinted into his face that resembled mechanical structures; it was unknown if they were some kind of tattoo.
One of his eyes was completely empty—pitch-black leaving only a hole, lacking the structure of an eyeball. He wore a white robe similar to the angels, but through the white robe, one could faintly see he completely lacked the structure of a left hand.
That indeed was an extremely peculiar man.
But the Asuka Karasawa beside them broke down a bit. She excitedly pointed her finger at the man and stammered,
"He... the language he spoke, I've definitely heard it before... Uh, it was on the television before. I saw it, during the collapse of the Soviet Union... was it Russian! You were definitely speaking Russian, right?! Are you also an Earthling originating from my world, am I right?"
"Japanese?"
That tall man raised his eyebrows and muttered. However, before he could officially start a conversation with Asuka Karasawa, he glanced behind them, and then instantly squatted and hid back inside the room. Fisher also realized something was terribly wrong. Looking back behind him, that androgynous Archangel had already raised the golden short hammer in his hands with great tension and brought it down heavily upon the object on the forging table.
"Weng weng weng!"
"Watch out!"
Accompanying a massive piercing screech exploding from behind them that temporarily disabled everyone's hearing, Fisher subconsciously tried to grab Asuka Karasawa beside him. But before he could, an earth-shattering mighty force already transmitted over, blowing everyone present away, completely engulfing them in an instant.
"Hahaha..."
But at the very last moment, Fisher suddenly heard a light chuckle. Yet in the next second, that beautiful angel spreading her arms and laughing heartily crashed into his vision like a madwoman. Subconsciously giving her a pull, Fisher didn't expect to instantly regret doing so the moment he grabbed her.
He saw her glance at him with a smile, before pulling him over with Fisher showing an extremely abstract expression, flying toward the center of that massive force.
"Your mother..."
This seemed to be the exceedingly rare instance of Mr. Fisher Benavides learning the catchphrase of the great Sir Book. Unfortunately, Eimhart wasn't present at this time.
"Hahaha!"
The smiling Helaire and Fisher were swept into the power of that strike, disappearing entirely without a trace. Gou Wen was violently forced to retreat while suspended in mid-air by that force, but by curling that seemingly massive whale tail, he was surprisingly remarkably agile in the air. He gently tapped the ground, and a force not unlike flowing water dissipated the force he received toward some other unknown location.
Fisher and Helaire ahead had already vanished completely. Left with no choice, Gou Wen turned his head to look behind, only to discover that the future Magic Lord had been blown far away, hanging from the roof of a white building, completely unconscious.
"..."