The Handbook for Completing Demi-Human Girls

Chapter 462: Inevitable Demise

"Found you."

As the Archangel Remiel in the sky drew closer, the gospel and thunder echoing like torrential bells grew increasingly dense. Following that came his voice, calm as an ancient well, and his body landed on the boat little by little.

Seeing this, Gou Wen hurriedly climbed onto the boat, shook off the water droplets on his body, and looking at Remiel, on whose body quite a few peach blossoms had bloomed, asked.

"Archangel Remiel, what about over at Lord Tao's side..."

Hearing this, Remiel first stowed away the lightning spear he was gripping in his hand, before opening his mouth to explain.

"There is temporarily no need to worry about Lord Tao. She was injured and I estimate it will take quite some time for her to fully recover. Originally, I could have extended this time, but unfortunately, the shockwaves from my battle with her attracted other Elf Dukes, so I had to temporarily retreat."

As he spoke, Remiel suddenly turned his head to look at Fisher beside Helaire, saying to him expressionlessly.

"Thanks to your prior actions causing Lord Tao to be affected by Chaos first, otherwise I absolutely could not have been her match... But the power you used previously absolutely must not be used again. That you weren't liquidated by Lord World Tree after using it just now is already exceptionally fortunate."

"...I'll try my best."

Fisher silently committed the other party's words to heart, but verbally he couldn't make any guarantees. After all, he was currently in a transactional relationship with this group of Angels. He would retrieve the Tear of the World Tree for Pandora, and she would show him the Holy Grail, allowing him to shake off death and return to his current timeline. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing to make them somewhat apprehensive at this moment.However, Fisher knew using Renee's mark in the Tree Continent was risky at that time. After all, the illusory shadow of the World Tree was right before their eyes. The Nineteenth-Tier Lord Tao was helpless against Renee's power, but the World Tree and the True Gods above them might not be. Thus, he indeed needed to be a little careful when using it.

The reason the World Tree didn't wipe him out might be because she knew she was in the wrong—showing such overt favoritism towards the Elf King Bing, even going so far as to perform a life-blood sacrifice to help him escape death. If Ramastia, the God of Life, found this out, she definitely wouldn't get off easy. Of course, it could also be because, with the Loom of Fate currently missing, she simply had no time to bother with their group.

Regardless of the true reason, Fisher nevertheless gained a deeper understanding of the Elf-kin and Mythical Species. For example, he had clearly caused such a massive disturbance in Jianmu Palace previously yet no other Elves came, but as soon as they sensed the aura of an Angel, they swarmed over in droves.

And there was another thing that didn't feel right, concerning the youngest of the three children, Elf Tsuki.

The Elf King said there was something wrong with her. What exactly was wrong? Why did he see her within Lord Tao's barrier at that time? And why did she look exactly identical to Renee?

"Returning to the main topic, have you obtained intelligence regarding the Tear of the World Tree?"

Remiel didn't show much expression toward Fisher's statement. The lightning on his body naturally surged slightly, turning all the peach blossoms entangled on him into ashes, as he looked at this group lying haphazardly and in disorder.

Everyone looked at Fisher, and he also nodded, saying.

"I already know."

Remiel evaluated him with a glance but didn't anxiously press for details. He looked at the Helaire lying on the floor, then nodded.

"That is good then. Helaire and this Transferred Person are severely injured. I will first take you back to the Sanctuary and ask Raphael to attempt to heal their injuries. You can also rest for a bit. Pandora will discuss the details of the transaction with you later."

Fisher looked at Helaire beside him. She was still looking at him with a smiling expression, as if the injured person whose body was shattered and whose halo was flickering wasn't her.

He had no objections and nodded in agreement to the other party's suggestion. In any case, bringing the intelligence back to Pandora was a prerequisite for moving on to the next step. Moreover, Eimhart was still in the Sanctuary, and he didn't know if he could manage to see him.

At the same time, Fisher also deciphered some information from Remiel's words just now.

Firstly, Pandora and the Remiel before him seemingly entirely belonged to the same faction. Fisher had already noticed some clues regarding this point previously when they were judged by the seven Archangels.

Pandora and Remiel were in one faction, Raphael and Uriel—the two Angels who looked almost identical—were in another faction. Raguel leaned towards Raphael's faction but wasn't entirely part of it. Michael and Gabriel were completely independent, and in terms of abilities, they seemed superior to the other Archangels who were also at the Nineteenth-Tier.

With no other objections, Remiel reached out a hand, and the sickle on the side of the wooden boat flew backward into his grip. Then he turned his head and made a single swiping motion with one hand. Instantly, a rift leading to the crevice abruptly appeared before their eyes. The boat's hull once again swayed and submerged into it, its destination exactly the Sanctuary located above the sky.

After a good while of drifting, the swaying boat finally arrived at the Sanctuary. However, their landing spot was no longer the universe beyond the firmament, but rather the First Heaven near the clouds.

As introduced previously, the First Heaven was the lowest level of the Sanctuary, the place where all the slaves of the Sanctuary resided. It was also the so-called "mortal world" frequently spoken of by the Angels, the place overseen by Remiel.

The area of the First Heaven was much vaster than imagined, resembling more a massive city suspended amidst the clouds. Because of the slaves moving about everywhere, there was finally a bit of life here, making it not as deathly silent and stifling as the other Heavens in the universe above.

There was a reason the Angels bred slaves. Unlike the Elves who liked to use slaves for amusement, the Angels' purpose was surprisingly pure. It was simply because the Angels needed to forge Holy Artifacts, thus requiring labor to help them harvest and process massive amounts of raw materials for forging.

Because forging Life Gospel Relics was strictly prohibited by the Angels, the slaves here wouldn't be tortured and slaughtered like in the Tree Continent; they were merely used indifferently as tools by the Angels.

Perhaps compared to the Elves, the Angels' complete disregard towards the slaves was slightly better, but to Fisher, there was essentially no difference between the two.

Remiel piloted the Moon-Treading Ark, taking everyone to a location near the top of the First Heaven. Then he got off the boat, telling them before leaving.

"The rest of you can arrange yourselves. Make sure Helaire and that Transferred Person go to the Second Heaven to heal their injuries... Fisher, is it? Pandora is already waiting for you in the First Heaven. You can take a brief rest before going to find her, but the sooner the better."

After saying this, he turned and left expressionlessly, not taking a single cloud with him.

Watching him slowly fly away and vanish into the clouds, Gou Wen couldn't help but complain.

"So why didn't he just take us directly to the Second Heaven? We still have to carry these two wounded people up ourselves. Even normal people can't bear the transfer tunnels between Heavens, let alone the wounded..."

Lying on the boat planks, seemingly finding even moving difficult, Helaire smiled slightly upon hearing this. She opened her mouth to explain.

"Because Archangel Remiel is the weakest among the Archangels. Plus, he's responsible for the mortal world affairs that the other Archangels look down upon. Apart from Archangel meetings, he rarely goes to the other Heavens."

Hearing this, Fisher suddenly felt somewhat curious and asked Helaire one more question.

"Then what about Angel Sariel? She has another name, 'Pandora'. I heard from Gou Wen previously that this is the name she uses to refer to herself in the mortal world. Does she also frequently interact with the mortal world?"

"That is indeed the case. After all, apart from transmitting Lord Chain of Heaven's 'Oracles,' Archangel Sariel has no other duties. And precisely because of this, Archangel Sariel's relationship with the other Archangels isn't good."

This point Fisher could understand. From a human perspective, it was like among a group of siblings, there was one person constantly saying things like "Mom says you can't do this" or "Dad says you must do this." As the higher-up's mouthpiece, Angel Sariel would easily be distinguished by the other children, viewed as "on the parents' side" rather than "on our side."

Although the analogy was crude and the gap between Angels and humans was so massive, the principle was common after all. They more or less had such tendencies, much like the small cliques among the Archangels.

But Fisher didn't care much about these messy internal affairs of the Sanctuary. He still had to shake off death and snatch Eimhart back. What's more, the Sanctuary was going to collapse several thousand years later anyway, leaving not even a single feather behind...

At this point in his thoughts, Fisher's mind abruptly stalled. Subsequently, he lowered his head and looked at the smiling Helaire beneath him.

If the Sanctuary was destined to perish, and the Angel-kin would definitely vanish from history in the future like the Elf-kin, then was Helaire also destined to die?

"Oh my, looking at me so suddenly, could it be you're already impatient?"

Noticing Fisher's slightly stunned gaze, the smile on Helaire's face didn't diminish. She tilted her head slightly, looking at her injured body with considerable distress, clicking her tongue and saying.

"To think that even when I'm injured like this, you're still thinking about that kind of thing... You truly are..."

Fisher, his face covered in black lines, reached out a hand and clamped down on the other party's mouth that was about to keep babbling on. Subsequently, he carefully lifted her up and carried her on his back, speaking mercilessly.

"Say one more word and I'll throw you down from here."

"Getting anxious?"

Helaire leaned close to Fisher's ear, whispering this soft inquiry.

"..."

Fisher gritted his teeth and jumped off the Moon-Treading Ark, taking the opportunity to quietly but forcefully pinch her butt, as if returning to that crazy night.

But a second later, there was absolutely no movement from the Helaire on his back. Usually, at a time like this, she definitely wouldn't let it go without saying a few saucy remarks. Fisher paused slightly, thinking he had pinched her too hard. His heart softened, but his expression remained unchanged.

He just kept walking towards the direction of the transfer staircase leading to the Second Heaven, pausing for several seconds before asking.

"...Pinched too hard?"

"..."

There was no response from behind. Helaire's head wordlessly rested on Fisher's right shoulder like a cat. Like aggrieved coquetry, or a silent accusation, reprimanding Fisher for his excessive behavior.

Fisher paused slightly and turned his head, wanting to check her condition. As he turned his head, he bumped into her stunning face full of a mischievous smirk.

In the single second Fisher was stunned, her fragrant lips pursed slightly, then was pushed forward by the air in her oral cavity, completely making a cute sound like a water bubble. Like a prank, but also like a flying kiss conjured out of thin air.

"Muah~"

Pranked again.

Fisher turned his head expressionlessly and continued walking forward, shouting to Gou Wen behind him while at it.

"Gou Wen, bring Mikhail along too, we're going to the Second Heaven to have a look. Nekelia, I'll leave Karasawa to you temporarily. You two wait for us here, we'll come down after we get them sorted out."

"Mm."

Gou Wen nodded, wringing out some of the water from his damp clothes, then carefully hoisted Mikhail—whose head was covered in peach blossoms and whose status was unknown—onto his shoulder.

As for Fisher himself, he carried Helaire on his back without uttering a single word, arriving in front of the staircase. Yet the Helaire on his back tilted her head in confusion, seemingly wondering why her prank hadn't taken effect.

In the moment where only the two of them lingered in front of the transfer staircase, when the Helaire on his back was still confused, the Fisher carrying her in front abruptly turned his head. With lightning speed, he turned his head and fiercely captured her lips.

At the moment the soft lips of the two collided, Fisher didn't deepen the kiss, merely biting the other party lightly like a punishment, before swiftly pulling away.

Thus, while the Gou Wen behind them was still struggling to transport Mikhail, and Nekelia had flapped her wings to move from the stern to the bow to accompany Asuka Karasawa, Fisher quickly and stealthily completed this kiss.

Even Helaire froze slightly. She seemed to have completely failed to react, never expecting Fisher to abruptly kiss her without a word.

And looking at the other party's face that ordinarily loved pranking, a faint smile finally emerged on the expressionless face of the successful Fisher. He said to Helaire.

"Totally unexpected?"

"..."

The pranked Helaire wasn't annoyed in the slightest. Instead, she pursed her lips, that wicked smirk deepening little by little, once again exuding charm like aged wine. Closely following, those blue-gold pupils also brightened slightly, seemingly becoming sunny and radiant.

"Not bad, very not bad! As expected, even without other reasons, I would be very fond of you. Just now was very cute, I like it very much, keep up the good work... If you continue to please me, there will be more rewards~"

Fisher, who had just been smiling slightly, had his face collapse again after hearing Helaire's praise. He seemingly disliked others praising him with "cute," yet Helaire liked doing so very much.

And there'll be more rewards? Who do you think you are, nothing more than...

Fisher couldn't be bothered entertaining her anymore, merely turning his head expressionlessly to wait for Gou Wen carrying Mikhail to come over from behind.

Yet even though he felt Helaire was annoying in his heart at this moment, the thought from that brief instant just now—about how the Sanctuary was destined to perish in the future—seemingly sank little by little, hiding away in a place he didn't know.

Helaire... will definitely perish along with the Sanctuary in the future too...

He couldn't help but think this once again.