novelraw Chapter 515: A Single Word
Chapter 515: A Single Word
"Have you thought it through? I can't stay in the Sanctuary for too long, I have other things to attend to..."
Right now, within the Third Heaven, the pink-haired angel Youfeile absentmindedly leaned against the edge of a magnificent architecture. Upon observing the planet below gradually be redyed by the colors of the night, she turned her head back to ask the currently pondering Fisher behind her.
Fisher, reawakened by her voice, lifted his head. Evidently resolving his decision within his heart, he parted his lips to say,
"I understand. I accept Michael's offer. Take me to see him."
Youfeile snapped her fingers and praisingly smiled,
"A clever fellow. I was just joking earlier; I'm not actually in a rush. Bringing you up here was originally already counted as completing the task ahead of schedule. Within my expectations, carrying you up here was a process where we might have even needed to engage in an intense battle."
"...Why?"
While Fisher perked his eyebrows and inquired somewhat abstractly, Youfeile's eyes grew incredibly bright in a split second upon being asked. She walked back surging with enthusiasm and opened her arms to Fisher, explaining,
"Look, a romance between an angel and a human. When a couple encounters the purges and tribulations of the Sanctuary, how will they tide over the difficulties together? In the face of the Sanctuary's directives, they arduously resist, fleeing all over the Dragon Continent. When there are ultimately no other methods left, Helaire tearfully faces their separation. Would she then sob to you, 'My dear, hurry and leave. Flee as far as you can and don't worry about me'... and then you tightly embrace her with profound affection, shaking your head to declare, 'No, I'm not going anywhere. Even if I have to die, I have to be together with you'..."
"..."Fisher fell into silence, simply opting to quietly stare at this angel clutching her chest with a rosy complexion, having plunged herself into who knew what sort of fantasies.
Not until several seconds passed without eliciting any reaction from Fisher did Youfeile finally open her eyes somewhat disappointedly. Shaking her head and spreading her hands, she said in mild disgust,
"How utterly boring. I suppose this is exactly the reason why I have no way of becoming an angel like Helaire... Alright, I will take you to the Fifth Heaven to meet Archangel Michael. Follow me, we'll take a slightly more hidden shortcut."
She floated while turning her head to leave her original spot, and Fisher followed suit.
Fisher striking a deal with Michael now was a necessity, because no matter what his subsequent decisions were, he definitively had to retrieve Eimhart and depart from the Sanctuary. Since Michael held such an intent, Fisher saved himself quite a bit of trouble; after all, he was still feeling a headache previously regarding how to retrieve Eimhart.
It had to be said, the Transferred Person Mikhail's luck was honestly quite decent. He garnered profound favoritism from a Nineteenth-Tier Archangel, enough that the latter didn't even hesitate to exchange a World Tree Teardrop Relic he originally valued.
Perhaps to him, Mikhail had already provided a value higher than the World Tree Teardrop?
Passing through the pillars of light connecting the various heavens of the Sanctuary, Fisher also transitioned from his initial unaccustomed state to his current indifference. He only remembered that during his first time, Helaire was the one who personally brought him up.
Even up until now, Fisher hadn't completely figured out why Helaire focused on him so intensely from the very beginning. His heart faintly harbored a hypothesis: perhaps just like when he stayed by her side, he would always sense that indescribable wisp of comfort, though he remained uncertain if the other party also paid attention to him due to the identical reason.
Should he use "love at first sight" to describe it? Yet Fisher felt that wasn't overly appropriate.
He merely felt that they were probably both in possession of some sort of mutually attracting trait relative to one another.
"Buzz buzz buzz!"
Fisher and Youfeile swiftly arrived at the Fifth Heaven. Positioned beneath the spectacular Sun Ring perpetually rotating overhead, the domain governed by Michael currently boasted quite a few more intriguing items.
"Hello, please make way. David is very grateful for your cooperation."
"According to David's suggestion, it would be even better to design the exterior of this utensil as a pressing cup."
"David must constantly remind you that you have continuously forged for two days and three nights. David strongly suggests you do some other things; this might conversely help to better focus your attention, no?"
Within the Fifth Heaven, countless massive machineries with bizarre appearances were traversing back and forth between the angels and the forging furnaces. Those colossal mechanical shadows reaching over a dozen meters in height practically monopolized Fisher's entire field of vision. The intangible medium pervading the surroundings: Aether, was ceaselessly conducting David's emotional synthetic voice, instantly causing Fisher to recall the previous incident where he was thoroughly angered by this unlucky fellow.
Considerably different from the future Cardinals and the previous prototypes in the Ideal State, these Cardinal shells currently brandished an aesthetic leaning heavily towards angel aesthetics, seemingly akin to gigantic pieces of artwork. No longer as primitive and efficiency-prioritized as beforehand, it appeared Michael had further executed modifications to numerous parts of the Cardinals.
"This guy..."
"Oh, you actually recognize these toys newly created by Archangel Michael? Right, I almost forgot. When the mishap occurred in the Ideal State previously, Archangel Michael dispatched quite a few prototypes down to understand the situation and rescue people. You couldn't have been brought out by them as well, could you?"
Truthfully, acting upon Mikhail's demands, the principal duty of the Cardinals back then was indeed to rescue people.
"I suppose..."
"Hmph, these little guys are quite popular among my compatriots. Archangel Michael created quite a lot of these things. Even though they don't have any major uses, they seemingly can replace the slaves of the First Heaven. Originally, rearing slaves in the First Heaven was highly troublesome, not to mention that Archangel Remiel combating the First Heaven has already died... well, although this hypothesis still remains in the experimental phase, perhaps they can be utilized by the entire Sanctuary like the Sun Ring in the future. I heard this was a technology brought over by Archangel Michael receiving inspiration from that Transferred Person, so on a personal level, I highly support Archangel Michael bringing that Transferred Person back to the Sanctuary..."
"There's more than just this one reason he brought Mikhail back."
Youfeile smiled. Looking at the gargantuan robots approaching them, she said,
"Ah, I know, but I don't dare to speak about it."
Precisely at this time, the massive machinery walking past them similarly noticed Fisher and Youfeile. With a "beep beep," it lowered its head, looked at Fisher, and declared,
"Oh, sir, hello. It's a great pleasure to see you again. David knew you were still alive. Even though David tossed you down from a height of several kilometers due to energy problems, it was a helpless maneuver at the time. Who asked sir to let David wait for you there for so long, missing the optimum escape window and necessitating David to operate under overload? If sir wishes to be angry, please divide the object of your anger into ten portions. Because of David's somewhat impoverished eloquence, he takes one portion, and sir will take nine portions... Of course, it is best if you're not angry."
"It's still better when you aren't talking."
Fisher sighed, suddenly somewhat reminiscing about the David One from the era he lived in. At least that guy didn't possess such a toxic tongue and was fairly reasonable.
"Oh, those words broke David's heart..."
Youfeile smiled and guided Fisher past these bizarre-shaped robots. Fisher couldn't be bothered with him, but simultaneously at the exact same moment, something abruptly flashed into his mind, prompting him to turn back and stare at the Cardinal behind him.
He suddenly recalled that Asuka Karasawa had fled alongside Mikhail and Gou Wen on the Cardinals at that time. Additionally, Michael previously implanted something into Mikhail's eyes, allowing them to communicate remotely, essentially turning the guy into an online chatter for the majority of his time in the Ideal State.
In other words, he could currently use these Cardinals to contact Asuka Karasawa in the Mortal World.
Just as this thought budded forth, Fisher had already spotted the red-haired androgynous angel seated upon the throne of the forge, expressionlessly gazing at the scenery outside.
The ever-burning flames within his pupils slowly revealed Fisher's reflection, and extremely swiftly, that scorching sensation dissipated far away. Youfeile solely guided Fisher over without entering. By the time Fisher turned his head to look back, she had already waved her hand at Fisher before rapidly leaving the area.
"You've already thought it through?"
"Yes, I yield this opportunity to Mikhail."
Michael's eyes slightly narrowed. Then, lifting a Horn seemingly forged from emeralds from the pile of Relics by his hand, he spoke out,
"A clever choice... Gabriel brought your Relic and entered the Boundary of Matter alone. In this world right now, the only ones capable of establishing contact with her are a few Gods, three Demigods... and me."
Following that, he placed the Horn before his lips. Accompanied by the minute surging of his boundless power, in the next second, a radiance perceptible to the naked eye unexpectedly exploded forth from the Horn. The radiance instantaneously transformed into a pillar of light that tore into the skies, traversing through the infinite darkness of the universe to plunge straight into the abyssal depths of Deep Spacethat being exactly the Boundary of Matter of this world.
Fisher and Michael simply eagerly watched the pillar of light shoot into the universe just like that. After a lengthy period, a horrifying impact violently transmitted downwards through that pillar of light; the light promptly shattered entirely apart piece by piece like glass. The enveloped impact instantly shook the dust accumulated over infinite amounts of time in Michael's forge off.
"Rumble!!"
"..."
"Cough cough..."
Fisher covered his mouth and coughed twice prior to saying to Michael,
"...Did she blast off your established communications?"
Michael's expression instantaneously blackened. He subsequently reached his hand out to wave, whipping up a violent gale of Aether out of thin air that aggressively blew all the grime completely outside. Bearing a terrible complexion, he once again raised his Horn. Firing a cold sneer towards Fisher, he stated,
"This is the Horn utilized for emergency contact by Archangels. When she went mad before, I could still use this Horn to call her over for meetings to judge you people, not to mention that presently, she has accompanied your Relic for an extensive period, her state having already made a full recovery. She will return, but whether she will act of her own volition to return your Relic... Heh, when that time comes, I'll maneuver to assist you in snatching it. However, whether or not you'll encounter her relentless pursuit after taking him away remains unknown to me. You are solely responsible for that portion."
Just as Fisher attempted to open his mouth to express something, Michael, assuming he wished to vocalize dissatisfaction, interrupted him, saying,
"Since you will inevitably face the pursuit of all the Mythical Species following your departure from the Sanctuary anyway, what does an additional Nineteenth-Tier Archangel matter? You ought to understand the reasoning behind how excessive debts don't weigh one down."
What does an additional Nineteenth-Tier Archangel matter...
You really have the guts to say that, Michael.
But fortunately, it wasn't these words that Fisher originally intended to state. He simply looked at the Cardinals situated behind him and said to Michael,
"Those Cardinals should be connected to Mikhail, correct? You should know where Mikhail and Asuka are... I wish to communicate with Asuka, are you capable of achieving this?"
Michael's expression momentarily froze. Next, a wisp of mockery materialized upon his face which was originally frequently draped with nonchalance. Setting his head into a nod to beckon over an exterior Cardinal, he concurrently chuckled and sarcastically taunted Fisher,
"You are truly greedy, human. Helaire transformed herself into a female solely to establish a companionship with you, yet even so, within her homeland, before the face of her compatriots, you can unabashedly demand to engage in a whispered conversation with another young female... Whether I should proclaim to applaud or spit upon it, you indeed harbor traits entirely absent among the other Transferred Persons."
"Yeah yeah, Mikhail is totally the best."
Fisher perfunctorily turned his head away and followed the Cardinal, preparing to go outside to converse with Asuka Karasawa, failing to anticipate that his single sentence shattered Michael's emotional defenses completely.
He spotted Michael's originally smiling, mocking facade collapse exhaustively in the ensuing second. Fisher angered him so intensely that his teeth itched, even to the point where infernos as blistering as a solar furnace erupted within his eyes.
Fisher had already departed outside, leaving Michael gnashing his teeth and stating directly into the void,
"All along this journey, is this guy named Fisher always this..."
...
Meanwhile, on the ocean nearing the Dragon Continent within the Mortal World, amidst a massive island, Mikhail stared into the midnight breeze. He abruptly smiled and shook his head, vocalizing,
"The only one probably fostering the same line of thought as you is that Whale-kin Gou Wen... Along this journey, he constantly made things difficult for Fisher out of nowhere, almost as if Fisher abducted his daughter. But taking into consideration that he commended me just now, I believe he is still quite a decent individual, profoundly reliable on a majority of occasions."
"Hmph, majority..."
"Yes, provided no ravishing ladies or Demi-human girls are involved, Angel Helaire was similarly grouped into this categorization... Alright alright, I have to go inform Asuka that her teacher Fisher wishes to speak with her."
"Mn."
Mikhail rose to his feet. Peering towards the faintly flickering campfire ablaze within the island's jungle a short distance awayAsuka Karasawa was situated exactly there.
Not only were there the indigenous residents previously rescued from the Ideal State present, but there were also several Demi-humans who formerly harbored unkind sentiments against these uninvited guests. Among that gathering of native residents, they had yet to awaken from the mourning of "waking up to find my home and my family completely gone," yet Asuka Karasawa behaved devoid of this.
Because Michael continuously sustained contact with Mikhail, when Michael formulated this intent and hauled Fisher back up to the Sanctuary, Mikhail knew of it and conveyed this news to Asuka Karasawa.
She blanked out for several seconds back then, subsequently declaring sentiments of how it was fine before heading over to prepare dinner.
Perhaps owing to having already tread this path for so long, Mikhail, who was already in his early forties, had similarly given rise to a heart of sympathy towards this young and fragile High School Girl.
Probably factoring out Helaire and Nekelia, everyone essentially accommodated Asuka Karasawa within this singular team.
Gou Wen and Mikhail viewed Asuka Karasawa equivalently as a figure of their daughters' generation; Fisher similarly treated Asuka Karasawa as a student. Yet currently, all this was fated to distance itself far from her.
Arriving at this thought, Mikhail inevitably halted his footsteps momentarily, turning around to verbally ask Michael,
"Isn't it possible... to bring this child Asuka along to the Sanctuary as well? This world is profoundly dangerous, and she is still so young... If we're leaving her completely by herself..."
"Did you take arriving at the Sanctuary as an asylum for you Transferred Persons? All regions of this world lack any welcoming sentiments targeted towards you lot hailing from Chaos, not to mention the gargantuan mess conjured up previously. From this point onward, every single region of this world operates as a gallows towards you people. Even for you, you won't be exempt from being researched by me upon returning to the Sanctuary. You had best formulate preparations to endure my torture before arriving."
Mikhail smiled helplessly. He was deeply cognizant of this world's repulsion towards all of them, prompting his footsteps to slowly maneuver once more,
"I am aware... As I stated previously, I owe you a life. Whatever you demand, I am at your disposal. Even commanding my death remains inconsequential. But regardless, I am likewise too exhausted to run all around the world."
"Hmph, so long as you know."
Following a spell of silent walking, Michael's voice transmitted anew,
"Within a bird's nest, even the skinniest, most frail bird fed the minimum by its mother must ultimately depart the nest and flap its wings to take flight upon the arrival of its assigned time. Whether it crashes into the wind to die or struggles to soar highly constitutes its destiny; no existence, nor any factor, can alter this, much less incur transformations birthed due to your pity and sympathy."
"The skinnier and more malnourished the bird, the higher its odds rendering it powerless to fly, thereby suffering death via plummeting onto the ground. But naturally, the more deprived of love and the more deprived of safety it is, upon succeeding in its flight, it will transmute into the most beautiful, sturdiest bird, primarily because it profoundly understands the taste of loss. From that day onwards, every single segment of its ascension will parallel into an endless bout of benevolence."
Mikhail separated his lips. The radiance of the fire far off finally stood within an arm's reach as he sincerely commended,
"What a sudden moment of enlightenment... I never anticipated Archangel Michael harbored such a gentle and sagacious facet."
"...I am an angel of the Mythical Species, neither blind nor intellectually deficient. What humans, including other weaker lifeforms, capture into their vision, we are identically capable of securing within ours; identical capabilities of sensation apply, and we may even bear much profounder comprehension. Meditate properly to grasp its concept, foolish human."
Michael released a frigid sneer and definitively severed the internet communication connection.
At this precise moment within the campsite, barring the blazing campfire and the thoroughly dazed, huddled residents of the Ideal State, there were similarly innumerable native island Demi-humans suspended via threads assembled by Magic Crests. Those appeared to be some sort of scaled, lizard-resembling Demi-humans, which Mikhail remained unacquainted with as well.
During their landing ashore, they continuously repeated themselves a myriad of times, stating how they merely coveted temporary lodging prior to their departure. They failed to hypothesize the opposing faction casting their designs against Mikhail's Cardinals. While Mikhail desired negotiations, he totally didn't bank on Asuka Karasawa snapping entirely, charging into the opposing tribe brandishing magic carved throughout an entire night, hauling over and subsequently hanging up the Patriarch, his family, the family belonging to his family, and the family belonging to the family belonging to his family...
Having suspended them for two days now, it should broadly assist them in organizing their calmness, though Mikhail lacked certainty of it as well.
"Mr. Mikhail, you've returned. They've assembled dinner already, and I intentionally left a portion for you."
"Oh, it's fine... Right, I harbor a matter to inform you of, Asuka."
Mikhail rejected seizing the clay bowl extended forth by the Demi-human Race aside from him, solely guiding a Cardinal still possessing energy toward approaching Asuka. He completely bypassed noting the Demi-human behind him unceremoniously devouring his portion.
"What... is it?"
"Your teacher Fisher... wishes to converse a few words with you."
"..."
Asuka Karasawa parted her mouth, frantically pitching the bowl to the side and jerking up from the ground. Holding the Cardinal, she paced forth singularly towards the deserted seaside.
Mikhail watched her incomparably youthful back shadow somewhat solicitously. Shortly after, scratching the rear of his head, stripped thoroughly of methodology, he could only submit the decision essentially into the hands of fate.
I had better continue to eat...
Hm? Where the heck did my food go?
Disregarding the subsequently turning around, completely baffled Mikhail, Asuka Karasawa held the Cardinal and trotted the entirety of her course. She breached the forests, bypassed the gargantuan jutting rocks, and arrived before a swath of purely white sandy beaches.
"Splash! Splash! Splash!"
The seawaters ahead rolled forward layer by layer. Panting, she frantically lifted the Cardinal situated within her hands and dubiously parted her lips to relay,
"Fisher-sensei?"
The voice transmitted from there ceased substituting for David; rather, transitioning to Fisher's vocal cords,
"It's me, Tang... Asuka."
When sensing that voice, an unnamable catalyst suddenly propelled a souring jolt striking Asuka Karasawa's eye sockets. She hastily snapped her eyes shut, pulling the icy Cardinal into her embrace. Kneeling upon the sandy beach, she vocalized while panting,
"That's great... That's great... I... I heard Teacher Fisher's voice again..."
"...I'm sorry, Asuka."
The ocean waters served essentially as her accompaniment, shattering Fisher's present voice identically as it would foam.
"Not at all. So long as you remain uninjured, that is fine. It's truly wonderful, Teacher Fisher, you are really unharmed..."
"Of course I'm unharmed. I have yet to finish instructing you on your magic."
"Hahaha..."
Asuka Karasawa smiled and took a seat. It was a pity the Cardinal was solely authorized to transmit audio, entirely blinding her from spotting Teacher Fisher's current manifestation.
Neither did she bear knowledge regarding what nature of visage clothed Fisher's face, solely receiving his voice connecting once more subsequent to a fairly lengthy spell of stalling.
"You're still practicing magic, right?"
"Mn! In addition, I also independently forged several novel magics, though they exhibit a diminutive margin of unreliability, they broadly should function properly. I still remember everything Teacher Fisher taught me..."
"That's good to hear... Actually..."
"Does Teacher Fisher have some things you want to tell me?"
Unpredicted by Fisher, Asuka Karasawa abruptly hooked onto his sentence fragment.
Beneath the radiant moon and sparse stars, their conversation blanked out for several seconds. Yet the trailing sentence Fisher picked up nonetheless perpetuated its tranquil tone.
"Indeed I do."
"I... I know... I already knew beforehand."
Now it was Fisher's turn to harbor intrigue, driving him to inquire uncontrollably,
"You know... You know what?"
"I know..."
Asuka Karasawa embraced both the Cardinal and her knees mutually together into a ball. As we peer downward, her bare toetips are precisely visible now, unmasking the grains of sand latched within the crevices segregating her white and delicate toes.
Exploiting the starry sky, oceanic waves, and white sand as groundwork laid forth for her, she plastered her face onto the Cardinal. Amidst a display of coy shyness, she ostensibly spiraled into contemplation and dubiousness.
Yet it remained exclusively momentary. Even Fisher failed to discern the discrepancy lingering amidst it, solely capturing her remote, hushed declaration,
"I know, Teacher Fisher isn't a Transferred Person at all... Furthermore, you are fated to depart from here, am I right?"
A single word, penetrating the starry river, reaching straight into the Sanctuary situated amidst the firmament.