The Handbook for Completing Demi-Human Girls

Chapter 543: Shadow of the Demon

Hearing the delicate voice of Ingrid in front of him, Fisher had absolutely no intention of enjoying it. Beside him, Raphaela and Jasmine were close to erupting. He felt even more like he had thorns on his back, wishing he could throw this person in front of him into the sea.

The events of these short few seconds happened suddenly and rapidly. His first thought was: Could it be that this person no longer cared for her life or dignity for the sake of a so-called news scoop, actually doing such a thing that would cost him his life? But thinking about it carefully, it didn't seem right.

If she was still just an intern reporter for the Giant Snake Newspaper, coming for some so-called news, then where did she get a ship full of gold, silver, and treasures? These things simply didn't look like something an intern reporter should have.

Thinking of this, Fisher gritted his teeth, suddenly reached out and grabbed her shoulders, carefully controlling his strength in an effort not to break this human girl before him who was only at rank zero. Pushing her away from him little by little, he stared at Ingrid with a solemn expression and asked in a low voice,

"Are you insane?"

Fisher didn't know exactly how large the gap was between a Mythic Rank and a normal human. Only through occasional, sudden realizations of human fragility could he describe this nearly heaven-and-earth difference.

When Ingrid ran towards him just now, Fisher almost subconsciously wanted to raise his hand and slap her away. But doing so would likely cause her to bleed out on the spot, and whether she lived or died couldn't be guaranteed.

And now it was even more so. The moment Fisher lowered his head to ask, he immediately felt Ingrid's entire body shudder. Under Fisher's scrutiny, all the fine hairs on her body stood up. Just like when she was beside him back then, she could instinctively feel the gap with a Mythical Species, resisting contact and proximity to Fisher out of a desire for survival.

But why was she forced to do this now?

Seeing this, Fisher couldn't help but be slightly taken aback. He looked at Ingrid before him, wanting to know the answer, but saw that alongside her terror, she put on that delicate expression again and said tearfully,"Hubby, wh-what's wrong?"

"When we separ—"

"Hubby, stop talking, please stop talking... I'll be obedient later, so please don't leave me behind again, okay?"

But just when Fisher wanted to ask his question, Ingrid's face turned pale, and she gave Fisher a pleading look.

She was still slowly approaching Fisher, but she seemed to intentionally or unintentionally reveal the back of her neck, hidden beneath the long veil of her lady's hat.

Fisher glanced down and saw a bizarre circular symbol faintly flashing on the back of her neck. That symbol possessed a mysterious feeling. The moment he saw it, Fisher felt as if he simultaneously saw a pillar of fire shooting into the sky, followed by a glowing arrow flying straight out from the pillar of fire until it occupied his entire line of sight.

"Rumble!"

That arrow didn't cause any damage, but like a whisper, it abruptly brought a name into Fisher's mind—

'Barbatos...'

That name seemed to appear directly before his Soul, unobserved and unnoticed by the others beside him.

But this wasn't the most crucial part. The crucial part was that when that Sigil was displayed before him, in Fisher's Soul Vision, he suddenly realized that, at some unknown point, a Sigil extremely similar to the one on the back of Ingrid's neck had appeared on his own chest.

However, unlike her Sigil, the one on Fisher's chest seemed deeper in color and the symbol was more lifelike. He didn't know if its meaning was different. Furthermore, that Sigil on his chest seemed to have undergone a violent alteration.

Beneath the current Sigil, another deep-colored, lifelike Sigil had been directly erased, and the new Sigil stood generously upon the remains of the erased one. Carrying a thick aura of Chaos, it declared its existence, and it was also a name—

'Baimon...'

Fisher's heart tightened. In just this single second of Reality's time, he seemed to have perceived many secrets never discovered by outsiders.

Baimon?

Helaire?

When did she leave a Sigil on his body?

Was it when he was in the Sanctuary, or at some point in the past?

And why did she leave a Sigil on him?

Putting aside this question for now, just by seeing the Sigil on the back of Ingrid's neck, Fisher roughly knew that the Great Demon Barbatos had captured the intern reporter before him.

In other words, her lying about being his wife of four years to enter the Dragon Court was all taught by those Demons. As a human, she certainly couldn't resist and only had obedience left as a path.

But looking at it from another aspect, since Barbatos knew that having her lie about being his wife would cause him trouble, it proved they possessed a certain degree of understanding about his situation.

As for why they would pay attention to him beforehand, Fisher felt it defied logic. Only Helaire, who had an affair with him millions of years ago, would possibly pay attention to him. Moreover, she happened to not be a Demon and could evade the Mother Goddess's imprisonment...

Could all this—including the Nari army being infiltrated by Demons, and the current troubles—actually be Helaire's doing?

Thinking of Eimhart's warning, no matter how good his feelings towards Helaire were, he couldn't help but consider such a possibility.

In the next second, he said nothing more and simply let go of the hand gripping Ingrid gently, causing her body to go soft and stagger several steps backward. She was hurriedly supported by the two maids following behind her.

"Young Master, how can you treat our Young Lady like this? No matter what, she is your first wife. It's bad enough that you're fooling around with these sketchy Demi-humans outside, but shouldn't you at least send a message home? Having our Young Lady chase you all the way here, we couldn't even talk her out of it... This is truly..."

Behind her, the originally expressionless maid suddenly became animated. While patting Ingrid's seemingly frightened back, she grumbled to Fisher like this.

However, as she gently supported Ingrid's back, the moment she made contact, Fisher immediately felt Ingrid's body go limp. Following that, Ingrid's face became ruddy. The terror and pleading towards Fisher from just a moment ago completely dissipated, turning into an illusory feeling of leading a befuddled life. Her coerced performance became even more realistic.

"Boo-hoo... hoo..."

Fisher's eyes narrowed slightly. Having interacted with Eliog, he certainly knew what happened when that maid touched Ingrid just now...

She was extracting the Fallen Self-Nature from Ingrid's body!

These two maids were also Demons... No, they should be Demon Attendants.

"Sketchy? First wife?"

Hearing the maid's words, Raphaela sneered. With a "buzz" sound, a blood-colored Longspear sprang into her hand. In just a split second, the temperature inside the entire tent rose several degrees, causing the expressions of the two maids to slightly change.

"You'd better not forget whose land you're standing on. Are you courting death?"

"Wait, Raphaela, I feel... something is off. Moreover, Teacher Fisher hasn't even married you yet, how could he be married to another woman?"

Jasmine also pursed her lips and advised in this manner.

Fisher's body faintly stiffened, and Valentiina's figure involuntarily popped up from the bottom of his heart. But outwardly, with an extremely strong desire for survival, he didn't reply to this comment.

In reality, Jasmine always had an indescribable feeling about the Ingrid before her, feeling that the relationship between her and Fisher didn't seem that intimate.

She wasn't stupid. On the contrary, her observational skills were sharp and delicate, only that her thoughts weren't easily revealed in ordinary times.

Jasmine also didn't let anger go to her head easily like Raphaela sometimes did. Even when emotions surged, she still maintained her composure.

She certainly knew what it looked like when Fisher had a relationship with a lady.

Remembering back in Saint-Nazareth, even with Empress Elizabeth—a woman who had broken up with Teacher Fisher so long ago—the atmosphere between them remained ambiguous, mixed with mutual, unspoken understanding. Not to mention women like Renee and Raphaela...

But this Ingrid before them, aside from her words, didn't seem to share that kind of feeling with Fisher in any aspect.

Before the opponent arrived, she had assumed they would be an incredibly powerful enemy, so much so that she and Raphaela were standing by in full battle array.

But looking at it now, was this it?

Hearing Jasmine's words of mediation, Raphaela's furrowed brows also smoothed out slightly. She similarly realized something was amiss, but wasn't as certain as Jasmine. She could only look at Fisher beside her to gauge his reaction.

When she saw his solemn face, completely devoid of any panic, guilt, or conflict, a stone in her heart instantly dropped.

It seemed she really wasn't his wife. He wasn't married yet, and the position of his wife belonged to her...

Her lips had just curled up slightly when the shadow of Jasmine nearby lingered, causing her mood to rapidly plummet again. She had no choice but to refocus her attention on this "Fisher's wife" before her.

Hearing Jasmine's doubt, the maid actually sneered and retorted,

"Our Young Master and our Young Lady fell in love freely. If he doesn't marry our Young Lady, is he supposed to marry you? Over these past four years, he has always been with our Young Lady. Has he ever appeared anywhere else? Right, Young Lady?"

"Boo-hoo..."

Ingrid immediately nodded, acting pitiful and weak, too afraid to make any other moves.

However, Fisher raised his hand, interrupting whatever Raphaela was about to say next, and asked Ingrid,

"So, you came here to..."

"Of course, it's to have the Young Master come home with us and not stay in the Dragon Court anymore."

"Boo-hoo!"

The maid spoke, and Ingrid followed by nodding.

In other words, Barbatos, or the Demon-kin behind him, didn't want him involved in the matters here?

Ingrid was the one who entered the factory with him back then, and the Mythical Rank entity who intervened to stop him from leaving must have been Duke Demon Barbatos. So he followed the vine to find the melon, using Ingrid to tell him not to help the Red Dragon Court?

But Raphaela and Jasmine were both here; how could he possibly abandon them?

Not to mention, Saint-Nazareth was his homeland, and Empress Elizabeth there also had ties to him. With her army infiltrated to this extent, it was hard to imagine the Demons' goals and her current situation.

"What if I say no?"

"Ah, if the Young Master insists, then we'll have to..."

Seeing that they were about to continue, Fisher looked at Ingrid in their embrace, interrupted their words, and bluntly asked,

"Which one is it?"

"Boo-hoo..."

Ingrid paused slightly, then suddenly realized something. Her pupils shrank, and she raised her eyes along with her head, pointing to the "maid" behind her,

"Mmph-mmph-mmph!"

Fisher's gaze hardened. Then, under the astonished stares of everyone present, he suddenly reached out and grabbed the Longspear in Raphaela's hand beside him. She was startled for a moment, but seeing Fisher's cold face, she immediately let go of the Longspear, allowing it to maintain its form.

"Young..."

Seeing Fisher grasp the Longspear, the "maid" seemed to also realize something was wrong. Just as she was about to speak, the crimson Longspear had already soared forth like a rainbow, rushing at her face with an intense explosive sound.

"Ah!!!"

Ingrid's ruddy face instantly turned ghastly pale. She shut her eyes tight in terror, feeling the surrounding air and howling wind solidify and slam towards her, as if Fisher wanted to send her back to hell with a single spear thrust.

As a human, she could only scream purely and helplessly. Scream!

But after all, the spear wasn't aimed at her, but at the Demon behind her.

In the second after Fisher threw the Longspear, before the maid could even react, she directly faced the Longspear backed by the power of the Mythical Rank. The Longspear pierced straight through her head, severing the hand... no, a tentacle shaped like an arrowhead, connecting her body to Ingrid.

"Rumble!"

The entire tent was blown away. The maid's headless corpse swayed twice before collapsing to the ground. From beneath her maid outfit, streaks of scalding blood resembling magma seeped out.

Seeing this, the other maid swayed a slender and terrifying tail extending from her back. Her face grew savage, and a pair of goat-like horns slowly grew from her head.

"You dare refuse the Duke's intention! You..."

Raphaela frowned and beckoned with her hand. The red Longspear that had flown out instantly returned, shattering her head before flying back into Raphaela's grasp.

Looking at the two headless non-human corpses, Raphaela couldn't help but question,

"Are these Demon-kin too? Why do they feel so weak? They're practically worlds apart from the previous Barbatos..."

Jasmine also shook her head. If Lord Ramastia were beside them, she might know the answer. Unfortunately, He had left her side four and a half years ago. She didn't know if He had urgent matters to attend to at the bottom of the sea, but He hadn't returned in these past few years. Everything had to be dealt with by Jasmine herself.

Meanwhile, Ingrid slumped to the ground, her entire body weak, almost drenched in cold sweat. Clutching her chest, she continuously gasped for air, as if surviving a heavenly tribulation, marveling at the Goddess of Fortune's favor.

"Mother Goddess... Mother Goddess protect me... I'm actually still alive..."

Ingrid knelt on the ground with a grieving face. Fisher hurriedly stepped forward, making no physical contact with her. He simply turned his head to introduce her to Raphaela and the other,

"This is Ingrid, a reporter from Schwari. Before I came to the Red Dragon Court, she temporarily served as my guide for a while. We entered a factory producing war weapons in Nari, and unexpectedly became targeted by that Barbatos because of it..."

"So that's how it is..."

Raphaela stepped forward, looking at the human before her who trembled like a baby chick, and quickly lost interest. Instead, she looked at the Dragon Court soldiers hurrying over in the distance and began to feel a headache coming on.

Jasmine beside them was more perceptive. Gazing at the massive amounts of gold, silver, and jewelry scattered within the tent area, she couldn't help but ask Fisher,

"But, if the Pseudo-Court merely sent people to deliver a message, why did they send so much jewelry over?"

It was exactly this sentence that abruptly blew the still-dazed Ingrid wide awake.

Her pupils contracted, and then she frantically raised her head, saying repeatedly to Fisher,

"Fi-Fisher, there was another strange fellow on that ship. She was originally in cahoots with these two, but... but she was killed by them, and they smeared her flesh and blood onto those things. I... I don't know what it's for, but..."

"Buzz!"

In the next moment, Ingrid's words came to an abrupt end because, behind her neck, a circular symbol abruptly lit up.

Behind her, the originally headless maid's body "cracked" and started squirming again. Surprisingly, a face forged out of flesh and blood abruptly grew from the Demon's corpse. the face was hideous, making it impossible to even discern a specific expression. One could only see a maw filled with jagged teeth continuously spouting filthy words,

"Heh... Young Master... We bear Duke Agreas's Blessing... Since you refused the Duke's wishes, we have no choice but to leave the Young Lady and the treasures here..."

"Caw!"

As her words fell, a massive bird resembling a mix between an eagle and a crow glided across the sky above. It didn't descend, but merely hurled down something impossibly small.

Fisher raised his eyes and discovered it was a severed finger.

"Fisher! Fisher! Have the others step back quickly!!"

At this moment, just when even Fisher was completely baffled, something arrived from behind even faster than the hurrying Dragon Court soldiers. It was a square, rapidly spinning book—none other than Eimhart. It seemed that in order to increase his movement speed, he resorted to such a comical method of travel.

"They are summoning a Demon God, quickly have the others step back!"

Fisher turned his head and saw that, following the finger's descent, Ingrid, the two headless Demon corpses, and the treasures all began to emit an extremely bloody radiance.

Along with this, the entire ground along the coast began to tremble. It was as if something underground was desperately ramming against the Surface, trying to break out from the earth, burning hot and restless...

Even without knowing what it was, the image of a pillar of fire inexplicably surged into the minds of Fisher and everyone present. Rather, they were extremely certain that what was ramming against the ground below was a pillar of fire, or rather, an entity?

Before Eimhart arrived, Fisher looked at Ingrid, who was wailing in agony before him. On her back, the scalding Sigil had sunk into her skin like a branding iron, seemingly as casually as a god marking a tribute.

"Raphaela, go stop your soldiers from coming over. I'll put an end to all this."

"Fisher!"

Jasmine wanted to move her feet, but found that the surrounding treasures had already slowly 'melted' into a pool of bloody water. That familiar substance violently awakened agonizing memories hidden deep within her that she didn't want to face.

At the bottom of Nari Lake, the hysterical Blake and Muxi on his chest...

No...

Why was it so similar...

Jasmine's small face turned pale, freezing in place instantly.

Raphaela also noticed her stiffened sister beside her. Gritting her teeth, she took one look back at Fisher rushing towards Ingrid, and could only pull Jasmine away first.

She could feel the disparity of Mythical Rank power, and wouldn't foolishly cause trouble for Fisher.

The entire Red Dragon Court sensed the anomaly occurring here, but only the rushing soldiers could truly and tangibly face that terror that made one shivering with fear.

Disregarding everything, Eimhart flew out into the continuously spreading sea of blood. He landed on Fisher's shoulder and together they looked at the completely blood-red Sigil on the back of Ingrid's neck.

"Fisher! This is a Demon's marker symbol. It's completely embedded! Unless..."

"Unless it can be eradicated from the Soul."

"Can you do it? Even the Holy Progeny and those Elves don't understand this soul technique very well. In the past, only Demons..."

"No, I can do it."

Fisher took a deep breath. He looked at his own hands; such an answer wasn't wind coming from a hollow cave, but because he had genuinely read the Soul Completion Handbook.

Though he had never intended to use its knowledge because he deeply understood it would invite madness, now he had to do so. Besides, he would eventually have to read this book anyway to protect Raphaela and the rest...

He might as well go all out. It would be better to start familiarizing himself with the recorded knowledge right now?

He wasn't sure either, because standing in the sea of blood, his actions were faster than his thoughts.

The ravings by his ear that he had always firmly suppressed poured in at this moment like water rushing into the ears of a drowning person. Consequently, his figure underwent mutation. Keeping his original human form was more of a preference of his subjective Consciousness, but at this moment, during the application of chaotic Soul magic, he inevitably found it impossible to maintain a neat and decent appearance.

Even Eimhart, standing on his shoulder, could feel Fisher's flesh and soul flowing like waves. What was even more terrifying was his illusory hand, which looked as though it were covered with countless mouths.

"Fisher, are you going to eat her Soul?!"

"Shut up, I'm only eating the Sigil on her Soul!"

Fisher gritted his teeth, enduring the fatal temptation of the Transferred Person named Caleb Uz beside him. He steadfastly controlled his hand, or rather, the soul integrated with it. Eerily, he devoured the Sigil attached to Ingrid's Soul...

"Rumble!"

The sea of blood erupting from the ground in the distance paused slightly. Raphaela and Jasmine, who were retreating backwards, looked in astonishment at the gradually quieting anomaly behind them, as well as the completely unharmed Ingrid and Fisher amidst it. Joy inevitably sprang up in their hearts.

"Fisher!"

Yet it was exactly this joy that made Raphaela, currently worrying about her sweetheart, fail to notice that the Longspear in her hand—and even the very depths of her soul—suddenly felt a trace of terror towards the person named Fisher...