novelraw Chapter 544: News
Chapter 544: News
Around the coast, above the ritual summoning the Demon God, the viscous scarlet resembling a sea of blood was gradually receding with Fisher's movements. Just like branches losing their root system and having no choice but to wither, the entire earth and sky quieted down along with it, as if everything that had just occurred had never happened.
Seeing the earth and sky quiet down, making Fisher's figure exceptionally clear, Raphaela and Jasmine hurriedly ran towards the shore.
At the center of that ritual, they first saw the girl named "Ingrid" had already lost consciousness and collapsed to her side on the ground. Fisher was also half-kneeling in front of her. Something seemed to be squirming on his body, or rather, it was more like his own body was squirming irregularly.
But long before the two ladies arrived, he had already restored his original human appearance.
Hearing the sounds beside him, Fisher subconsciously turned his head, but his face was almost devoid of any expression. His eyes were somewhat unfocused, making him look quite absent-minded,
"Fisher?"
Seeing this, Raphaela was the first to speak with some concern, but upon hearing her, the Fisher before her didn't have any reaction for a moment. Even Eimhart on his shoulder became nervous. After all, he was the closest to Fisher just now and certainly knew what had happened, thus appearing exceptionally worried.
"Fisher, are you alright? Say something!"
But what they didn't know was that at this moment, before Fisher's blurry vision, amidst the constant, ear-piercing tinnitus and ravings, he seemed to see a gray sky, as if shrouded in darkness. A continuous gloomy rain fell from the sky, covering the light of all things, leaving only the sound of wind like blades brushing past his ears.
Right in the center of that obscure sky, an exceptionally robust behemoth completely occupied Fisher's line of sight...That was a giant dragon, surrounded by numerous halos and overflowing with an indescribable Divinity!
At this moment, the giant dragon in the sky still bore a massive, golden sword wound on his shoulder. Yet this terrifying wound did not affect his terror in the slightest. He merely stared coldly at "himself," as if looking at a deeply hated mortal enemy.
Was that the Dragon God Fafnir?
"You damn Transferred Person!!"
He roared at himself with extreme fury, as if even heaven and earth would be pulled by his emotions and change color. But "he himself" seemed to feel absolutely nothing, like a block of emotionless wood or stone, completely unmoved by it, merely minding his own business and doing what he was doing.
Along with the giant dragon's extremely furious roar, a crimson dragon's breath capable of piercing through the continent continuously gathered in his mouth, condensing a terrifying, chilling destructive power.
It was precisely Fafnir's anger that caused Fisher to somewhat recover to his senses from the haziness. He was slightly taken aback and lowered his head to look at "his own" body, but in the blurriness, he couldn't see any human form at all...
He only saw a clump of bubbling, continuously expanding, seemingly endless indescribable Black Mud.
Was this himself?
Or...
Just when Fisher paused, the Black Mud on "his own" body had already spread out uncontrollably in all directions like a tsunami. The giant waves of Black Mud instantly corroded the exquisite and magnificent buildings around it, devouring the souls of the Dragon-kin and various Demi-human Races fleeing in panic through the city one by one. Like a black hole devoid of sapience or purpose, it greedily demanded everything in its surroundings...
And seeing what "he himself" had done, the fury of the giant dragon in the sky surged ten thousand times over!
"Roar!!"
A thunderous roar ignited once again, and the breath in the opponent's mouth could no longer be held back, arriving in an instant. Right when the clash between the "Black Mud" and the "dragon's breath" was about to occur, the illusion before Fisher's eyes came to an abrupt end. What appeared at this moment was not the disaster scene of heaven and earth splitting, but Raphaela and Jasmine's highly worried faces.
"Fisher?!"
"Haa..."
Fisher opened his mouth, his panting growing heavier. The black eyes that seemed to have scattered into individual stars gradually solidified, returning to human eyes just like a chameleon shifting back to its original color. That terrifying appearance made Raphaela draw a sharp breath of cold air, not knowing exactly what had happened to Fisher all these years.
She was just about to press for answers, but Fisher took a deep breath, shook his head, and interrupted her doubt, saying,
"I'm fine..."
"It's good that you're fine, Teacher Fisher!"
Just as Raphaela's face lit up with joy and she was about to make physical contact, Jasmine beside him preemptively hugged Fisher, causing Raphaela's expression to freeze in place.
She curled her lips imperceptibly, then turned her head. While observing the surroundings, she gently tugged at Jasmine's robe with her claw. By the time Jasmine, realizing after the fact, turned her head, Raphaela had already stood up with a foul expression to deal with the soldiers behind them who still knew nothing.
"We'll deal with the situation here later. Jasmine, please trouble yourself to take Fisher and this human named whatever-it-is back first. The commotion here was too big; we'll talk about other things later."
"...Mn, Raphaela."
Jasmine also realized her actions were slightly excessive, especially in front of Raphaela. She could feel that Raphaela wasn't unconcerned; it was just because she still had many difficult problems to face and didn't want to damage their mutual relationship, which was why she repeatedly endured it.
Correspondingly, she herself should also pay a little attention.
She pursed her lips and stood up, looking at Fisher who hadn't fully sobered up yet, and Ingrid behind him who had lost consciousness and fallen to the ground. Just as she was about to take action, she noticed something was wrong.
She looked behind Ingrid with some confusion and suddenly discovered that the two headless corpses that seemed to be Demons had completely disappeared. She didn't know if they had been consumed during the ritual just now.
"Teacher Fisher, you rest here for a bit first. I'll go make some arrangements for the other matters."
Ever since the incident on the shore earlier, the entire Red Dragon Court had become restless. Raphaela sealed off the news; only a small number of people knew exactly what had happened. However, this did not prevent the citizens of the Dragon Court from forming all sorts of speculations regarding the cause of that loud noise.
Some said the Pseudo-Court had attacked; others said the soldiers on the coastal defense line wanted to mutiny and flee north, but were discovered by the Queen; well, some even went so far as to think it was divine punishment, saying it was a revelation of war sent down by the gods.
All in all, the entire Red Dragon Court temporarily became busy right now. The ones bearing the brunt of it were naturally Raphaela, as the Queen, and Jasmine, as the Priestess.
Fisher was temporarily placed in a room within the Royal Court by Jasmine, while Ingrid went to receive some medical treatment. Fisher could guarantee that he only ate Barbatos's Sigil and that her soul remained undamaged; the rest of the wounds on her body could be left to the Dragon Court's doctors.
After things quieted down, only Fisher, resting with his eyes closed, and Eimhart were left in the room.
Eimhart flew loops around him for a while. Seeing that Fisher didn't bring up the fact that he hadn't told him about Jasmine being here for a long time, he knew the situation was amiss.
He hurriedly flew around Fisher again and asked,
"Fisher, what exactly is going on with your body? With this level of Chaos, your soul will also..."
Hearing this, Fisher opened his eyes. He glanced at Eimhart beside him, who was looking at him with a concerned gaze, and explained,
"Do you still remember when we were in the Northern Border, I showed you some knowledge?"
"Are you talking about that forbidden Chaotic Knowledge?"
Prompted by Fisher's reminder, Eimhart quickly recalled the agonizing memory of having his mind muddled after reading just a few words back then. He shook his head and hurriedly exclaimed,
"No wonder the Mythic Rank you entered is so bizarre, you... didn't I tell you before to stop reading those things? Otherwise, sooner or later, one day you will either go mad or mutate into a monster!"
Fisher suddenly thought of the illusion produced when he used the power of the Soul Completion Handbook to devour the Sigil on Ingrid's soul just now. That lump of Black Mud that sucked away souls might very well be his future outcome.
He shook his head, smiled, and said,
"Previously, I had originally given up on reading them. Part of the reason I entered the Mythic Rank was so that I could properly settle the debts I owed, and then stop there... but looking at it now, I can't stop like this. You said before that Barbatos is a Duke-rank Demon, then his true body should be at the Eighteenth Tier. I've only just entered the Mythic Rank, which is the Fifteenth Tier. If he makes a move against the Dragon Court, what should Raphaela and Jasmine do?"
Eimhart was slightly taken aback, and continued listening as Fisher added,
"And regarding them being in the army at Saint-Nazareth, I don't believe Elizabeth has the ability to command this group of world-destroying Demon-kin. They definitely desire something from Naris and Elizabeth as well... Just to protect them, I have to continue climbing the Ranks."
"But ultimately, I am just a human with a Rank of zero. In this world where all Tiers are fixed, entering the Mythic Rank, and even proceeding further, I can only rely on the Chaos that cannot be controlled by the Rules. I am deeply aware of its side effects, but this is the only desperate measure I can take."
Eimhart opened his mouth. After a long while, he finally forced out a sentence through gritted teeth,
"This is all Baimon's fault!!"
Fisher didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so he asked,
"What does this have to do with Helaire?"
"You forgot, she is also a member of the Demons, and the only free one over these thousands of years. During the four and a half years we were away, she definitely did a lot of bad things. Including the fact that those Demons could escape, it must be related to her too!"
"Then, what is her goal?"
Eimhart's expression, filled with righteous indignation, instantly froze. He knew Baimon was very, very bad, but when it came to her specific goals, he genuinely had no idea. The only thing he could be certain of was that her motives were not pure!
Fortunately, Fisher didn't expect Eimhart to provide an answer anyway, because this question was perhaps exactly what he himself wanted to investigate. It was just that current clues were too scarce; he couldn't form any meaningful conclusions and could only focus on the problems right in front of him.
"Regardless of whether the release of these Demons is related to Helaire or not, the problem of the Demons tangibly exists and I must face it. Just blame me for being too greedy, demanding too much back then. Now is the time to repay it."
"...I'm just worried that you'll do a bad thing with good intentions. Relying on something as dangerous as Chaotic Knowledge... I just fear that in the end, your goals won't be achieved, and you'll even hurt those women. You want to help them, and conversely, they also hope you can be safe—well, unless they discover the existence of one another."
Fisher smiled and shook his head, but his heart gradually grew heavy.
"I'll be careful, Eimhart."
Although in the past, while in the Sanctuary, the mysterious Elf "Gui" had reminded him that there seemed to be something special about him regarding Chaos, Fisher definitely wouldn't become bold because of relying on something because of this.
Even if the aftereffects of him reading the Completion Handbooks were much better than that bunch of guys from the Creator's Society, there were still aftereffects; otherwise, the illusion of losing control wouldn't have been generated just now. Reading the Completion Handbooks was like walking a tightrope for Fisher; a slight misstep would plunge him down a bottomless cliff, and he had to be careful.
And another problem was that the gap between Mythic Ranks was vast. Let alone the fact that he was at the Fifteenth Tier and Barbatos was Eighteenth Tier, even if he were at the Seventeenth Tier, he would have absolutely no chance of winning against Barbatos.
Not to mention that the name of another Demon also sprang from the mouths of those two Demon Attendants just now: "Agreas".
Fisher had heard this name before; it was from Eliog and Eimhart. This Demon seemed to have a good relationship with Eliog and similarly possessed Eighteenth Tier capabilities.
In other words, at a conservative estimate, Fisher would also have to face two Eighteenth Tier Demons simultaneously, while he was currently only at the Fifteenth Tier.
This was a nearly despairing gap.
According to the hints given by the Demi-Human Girls Completion Handbook, to advance to the Sixteenth Tier, he would need to completely read the Soul Completion Handbook. Assuming reading one Completion Handbook could only advance one Rank, he would need three Completion Handbooks to reach the Eighteenth Tier. The Demi-Human Girls Completion Handbook didn't count, so he only had two in his hands—the Soul and the Life handbooks. This was only barely enough to reach the Seventeenth Tier.
Not only did he need to find other Completion Handbooks to reach the Eighteenth Tier, but he also needed an ally who could fight alongside him.
For the Completion Handbook route, he might be able to seek help from the Lord of Fate. She wanted him to find the Magic Lord. Although he only found the Asuka Karasawa of the past, he at least had a tiny bit of a clue and should be able to seek a little help from the Creator's Society, which he didn't know if it was disbanded or collapsed by now.
As for the ally route...
The first person he thought of was Renee, because Renee's Rank was high enough. In fact, if she made a move, these problems wouldn't even count as problems. If she was a Twentieth-Tier Demigod, seeking her help would undoubtedly be a wise move. But the problem lay in the fact that she might be a True God above the Twentieth-Tier.
And a True God could under no circumstances interfere with the world. Fisher had heard this ironclad rule more than once. That was why Renee never truly made a move in Reality, always using magic and other bizarre little tricks to handle occurrences.
Then what other allies could he consider?
Helaire?
Hmm, he still hadn't figured out whether the appearance of Demons had anything to do with her. Furthermore, he didn't know where she was either; it would probably be somewhat difficult.
Eliog?
It seemed she was also a Demon. He didn't know if she had come out of the Demon Dynasty, and even if she had, might she stand on Agreas and Barbatos's side?
Wait, there seemed to be a minor issue...
Fisher suddenly recalled that the Sigil he saw on his chest earlier belonged to Helaire. But when he left Saint-Nazareth, those two Demon Attendants on Serpent's Head Street seemed to have told him that he carried Duke Eliog's Sigil on him?
In other words, Helaire wiped away her Sigil?
Although the relationship between him and the Eliog kitty was a bit indescribable, he always had a premonition somewhere in the dark that if he let Eliog see her Sigil erased, it would be quite bad...
Alright, after considering a full circle, the ally matter was basically out of the question.
Currently, the only existing Mythical Species should just be the Demons, and as it happened, this Mythical Species was now his enemy.
And besides the Demons, there was probably only him alone in the Mythic Rank. How was this supposed to be fought?
Fisher was somewhat isolated and without help, but he could only bite the bullet and keep moving forward. No matter what, continuing to read the Completion Handbooks was necessary right now.
He would start with the Soul Completion Handbook in his hand, then follow up with the Life Completion Handbook, and then deal with the rest...
Seeing Fisher's determined look, Eimhart had no other options to persuade him. He just flew onto Fisher's shoulder and said,
"Alright, if that's the case, I'll accompany you. I will supervise you."
Fisher smiled slightly, but suddenly seemed to remember something. He looked at him and asked,
"By the way, you knew Jasmine was here a long time ago. Why didn't you tell me?"
"Uh, this... what was it? Jasmine is here? I only just found out too... Oh, it's quite surprising as well..."
Speaking of this, Eimhart's gaze quickly drifted away. He mumbled and was just about to fly off and escape, when he was expressionlessly caught by Fisher, who wished he could flip open his little belly to see exactly what kind of things he was recording inside,
"You traitor, still making excuses."
"Waaah! Who asked you to make me sleep outside for a night! It's not my fault, ahhhh!"
"Knock, knock, knock!"
At this exact moment, someone knocked on the door to the room, and Fisher and Eimhart's horseplay came to an abrupt end.
Fisher raised his eyebrows and let Eimhart fly up, while simultaneously saying,
"Please come in."
"Fisher..."
The door opened, revealing Mill outside, wearing glasses and looking cautious. She scrutinized Fisher, then spoke up,
"That miss named 'Ingrid' has already awakened, but she seems to have been delirious the whole time, as if she's constantly having a nightmare..."
"But she said she wanted to see you. She said she learned some news in her dream, something regarding someone named... um, Baimon, and wanted to tell you."
Fisher opened his mouth but said nothing. Instead, Eimhart jumped up all of a sudden and yelled,
"Holy crap, Baimon!"