The Handbook for Completing Demi-Human Girls

Chapter 563: The Elf Inside the Brain

"Eldest Miss, let me help you out first."

Outside the massive egg of nirvana, before Heidelin even had time to catch up and express her gratitude, she hurriedly wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and prepared to reach out and pull Valentiina, who was curled up inside, out.

Valentiina panted, breathing in the fresh air, but every breath she exhaled carried extreme freezing cold, as if her body contained the entire winter of the Northern Border.

Facing Valentiina's breath, Heidelin's hands were frozen red. She tremblingly touched the crack-filled shell nearby. Then, as if a switch had been triggered, the entire shell of the massive egg began to shatter, emitting crisp cracking sounds.

"Crack, crack, crack, crack!"

"Eldest Miss!"

Heidelin's fragile body of an ordinary human seemed so vulnerable before the extreme cold of a Phoenix. She had no choice but to step back several paces, watching helplessly as Valentiina slid out from the shattered opening of the eggshell. But this also completely revealed her current appearance before Heidelin's eyes.

Looking at the giant wings that appeared weak at this moment due to slightly lacking adaptation, and her perfectly intact legs growing tiny cyan down fearthers...

"I... I'm fine, my legs can... can move..."

Valentiina was still adapting to this body. Moreover, she seemed to have slumbered for a very, very long time. It was always a bit awkward when first waking up."Yes, Eldest Miss, you are now a true Phoenix... the Phoenix Race that all races in the Northern Border revered in the past."

Overcome with emotion, Heidelin half-kneeled on the ground, hurriedly picked up a large blanket nearby, and wrapped up Valentiina who had collapsed stark naked on the ground. As her body gradually adapted, that uncontrollable freezing cold no longer spread out.

Heidelin's voice carried soft sobs, tears shed from extreme joy. She hugged Valentiina tightly, causing Valentiina to smile and pat her on the back.

"Ah, I'm back, Heidelin... Wait, your hair..."

Just as she was hugged by Heidelin, from the corner of her eye, Valentiina suddenly caught sight of strands of white silk intertwined beneath the black hair bound by the other party's emerald coronet. In the eyes of Valentiina, who was no longer an ordinary human and had gained a Rank promotion, it appeared exceptionally striking.

Hearing this, Heidelin froze slightly, then she looked at Valentiina and quickly matched what her gaze was pointing at. Heidelin smiled awkwardly, reached out to cover the position of her coronet, and said:

"This is just how it is when people get old. Moreover, the weather in the Sycamore Tree is also cold, so it whitens a bit faster."

Valentiina astutely noticed the traces time had left on Heidelin's face. Thus, she quickly realized a problem and immediately asked Heidelin:

"Heidelin, exactly... how long did I sleep?"

"A full four and a half years, Eldest Miss... Let me first help you to the bed to lie down for a while. You rest first, then I'll go out to tell them about your awakening and bring some food back for you in passing. You haven't eaten anything in four and a half years, you must be very hungry, right?"

"Four and a half years?"

Valentiina repeated in disbelief, then let Heidelin painstakingly assist her, a Phoenix, up and slowly walked towards the direction of the bed placed in the room.

"Ah, I also didn't expect you to sleep for so long, Eldest Miss. But fortunately, they successfully protected this place over the years, and nothing happened here... All of them were waiting for you to awaken."

"They?"

"Yes, the Six Tribes of the Snowy Mountains. The Slime-kin, Moon Rabbit-kin, Azurebird-kin, Snow Fox-kin, Giant Troll-kin, and Cloud Cat-kin... Although the Moon Rabbit-kin only has Nun Ilos now, she also came to the Sycamore Tree."

"I... Heidelin, can you talk in detail about what exactly happened while I was asleep?"

Heidelin assisted Valentiina onto the bed, covered her with a quilt, and then thoughtfully told Valentiina everything that had happened over these years.

The curse of the Sycamore Tree was dispelled, and Balzac and Phyllis had left the Northern Border to go their separate ways. Heidelin had stayed within the Snow Fox-kin settlement, anxiously waiting for news from above. Until one day, the Slimes came looking for them, bringing her along with the entire Snow Fox-kin tribe up the Sema Mountains. Here, they gathered the remaining bloodlines of the Six Tribes of the Snowy Mountains while waiting for Valentiina to awaken...

"In other words, the matters regarding the family are still..."

"Ah, Eldest Miss... Regrettably, to preserve their strength these past years, the Six Tribes never left the Sema Mountains. They merely repelled several attempts by the family to climb the mountain and enter the Sycamore Tree... They also knew about the disappearance of the curse, and after breaking free from the curse, they finally dared to leave the Snowflake Fortress. I heard they have gotten very close to Naris over these years..."

Thinking about how those guys actually lived even better because of the curse that she and Fischer risked their lives to resolve, Valentiina's expression became somewhat unsightly...

Right, Fischer, her husband!

Where did he go?

She had slumbered for a full four and a half years, and he had adequately waited for her for four and a half years. But Heidelin didn't mention he had come looking for her. He was still wanted by Naris. If the Turan family was acting in collusion with Naris, then Fischer's whereabouts in the Northern Border would...

"Heidelin, then F-..."

"Knock, knock, knock..."

At this moment, faint knocking sounds came from the door, as if the person knocking was weak and feeble.

Hearing this, Heidelin immediately looked behind her. She first tucked the quilt over Valentiina tighter, then stood up and asked towards outside the door:

"Who is it? If you're here to ask for news, then tell them Valentiina has already awakened, but she needs time to rest right now, and tell them not to come disturb her for the time being..."

"Eh? May the Mother Goddess bless us, has Miss Valentiina already awakened?"

A soft and delicate voice came from outside the door, granting Heidelin a slight pause, and then she asked:

"Nun Ilos?"

Heidelin pushed open the door, revealing the only surviving Moon Rabbit-kin outside wearing a nun's habit—Ilos.

She first cast a glance at the cracked eggshells scattered all over the ground, then looked at Valentiina on the bed, and greeted with a smile:

"Miss Valentiina, it's truly wonderful to be able to see you again."

"Nun Ilos..."

Heidelin's relationship with Ilos seemed to be quite good in the past. After seeing it was Ilos, she let her in, and only then closed the door again.

Ilos made a prayer gesture for Valentiina, then smilingly examined her current state. Behind her, Heidelin walked over and asked her:

"Didn't they send anyone over to ask?"

"As long as Miss Valentiina could be retrieved from beside the root, her birth would be free of danger. Since there's no danger, they naturally aren't in a rush anymore, and are currently discussing matters with that Iceberg Queen..."

"That's good then. I thought they would be so crazed as to be unable to wait right after Valentiina had just awakened..."

Valentiina was somewhat confused looking at the two conversing, so she asked softly:

"Root? What happened before I came out of nirvana?"

"Ah, it's just that... Miss Valentiina's Phoenix egg was previously resting against that World Tree root at the bottom of the Sycamore tree. They hadn't checked beforehand and didn't expect that the root had actually grown sprouts which entwined the Phoenix egg. It was that Iceberg Queen who exhausted all her abilities to chop off the branches around you and fish you up."

"Branches, huh..."

The figure of that foul-mouthed little girl in a ruqun suddenly flashed across Valentiina's mind. She always felt that this process had a certain connection to her previous injury process...

That person calling herself "Tao"... no, it should be the Elf. Where did she go now?

"Right, Ilos, did you come over just to check on Eldest Miss's condition?"

"To check... yes, but also no... that is, I wanted to confirm whether Miss Valentiina had woken up. If she had woken up... I had something I wanted to say to her..."

Ilos waved her hands, and the pair of rabbit ears on her golden bangs also swayed slightly. After saying this, she added another sentence:

"It's regarding Mr. Fischer."

"Fischer?!"

"Him?"

Valentiina hurriedly sat up. The wings behind her also uncontrollably spread open slightly, bringing a feeling of the whistling north wind, causing Ilos to purse her lips and hastily press down her nun's habit, stopping the skirt that was fluttering wildly due to the wind. Yet she still couldn't stop Valentiina from pressing on to ask:

"Does Ilos know where he went, and where he is right now?"

"Mother Goddess above, I don't know... but more than four years ago, he came to my Defiled Church. At that time, it was already a period of time after the curse had been resolved, and then one night, he suddenly visited, along with that talking Relic..."

"And then?"

"Mr. Fischer's condition was very bad. When he was discovered by me back then, he... had collapsed at the main entrance of the Defiled Church, emaciated down to his bones. The snow had almost buried him, and it was that book that came to call me that I only... In short, it seemed like Mr. Fischer had suffered some fatal injury inside the Sycamore Tree... His condition became very abnormal, like an old man about to die... He said he was being pursued by death, and it was highly possible he would die immediately..."

Ilos pinched the hem of her nun's habit. Facing Valentiina's look of disbelief, she then continued:

"Mr. Fischer made a phone call to Naris inside the church, it seemed to be a call to give his final instructions... Before making the call, he told me that he might return to his hometown for a trip. I asked him if he would come back, but he didn't say anything... Then a strange Carduan man came to the church, seemingly Mr. Fischer's enemy. They discussed something inside the church, and not long after... Mr. Fischer left the church..."

"And then?! Has there been any news of Fischer over these years?"

Valentiina asked repeatedly in rapid succession.

Only at this moment did that ominous premonition gradually spread from her heart. She suddenly remembered her final conversation with Fischer before she went into slumber. Reviewing his words now, they abruptly seemed profoundly meaningful.

Perhaps at that time, he was already severely injured, he just hadn't told her about it.

Then where is he now? What did he mean by being pursued by death? Did that mean he was about to die? Did he find a solution?

Ilos pursed her lips and looked at Heidelin beside her. Heidelin seemed to have already known everything she said, and the expression on her face also appeared somewhat hesitant.

But facing Valentiina's extremely agitated gaze, she couldn't help but speak first:

"Eldest Miss, let's rest for a moment first. Eat a little something before we discuss this matter."

"Heidelin... I want to know his news..."

"I know, Eldest Miss, but I must ensure your..."

"I am no longer the Eldest Miss of the Turan family... On the snowy mountain, I exchanged wedding vows with him, witnessed by those Giant Trolls... I... I am his wife, I need to know my husband's whereabouts!"

Heidelin really couldn't smooth things over, so she sighed, closed her eyes, and said:

"After Fischer left the Defiled Church, the Slime initially tasked with teleporting him to Naris went to look for his traces. But they only found that he seemed to have clashed with an organization called the Witch Research Society, and his final whereabouts were unknown..."

"Whereabouts unknown? What does that mean?"

"...His condition was very poor at that time, very weak, and he had to face dozens or even a hundred members of the Witch Research Society alone... The Slimes didn't hold much hope for the possibility of his continued survival. They eventually found a puddle of Fischer's blood and the clothes he left behind. He killed everyone in the Witch Research Society, but he was severely injured, and it was a freezing night in the Northern Border with nowhere to stay. We are more inclined to believe that he..."

"Enough! Heidelin! You guys..."

Valentiina instantly shed tears. Teardrops resembling ice crystals continuously slid down her face, causing the entire room to begin frosting over, giving Ilos a fright.

She looked at the extremely agitated Valentiina and hurriedly comforted her:

"Calm down, Valentiina... But the Slimes and the others later searched the surrounding areas and didn't find Mr. Fischer's body. It's possible he's still alive, just that we don't know where he is right now."

Heidelin looked at Ilos who still wanted to comfort Valentiina. After a moment of silence, she couldn't help but say in a give-up-on-oneself manner:

"Eldest Miss, while you were slumbering, the Slimes, the Giant Trolls, and I had already tried our absolute best to search for Fischer's traces... You know, the Slimes have the Borderland, an intelligence network covering the whole world, and they can learn certain information. But there was absolutely no news of him, he didn't even successfully return to Naris!

"After that, Naris also sent people over to search for his whereabouts, but gained nothing either. In his condition back then, where could he go? He even relied on the Slimes just to walk to the Defiled Church. It was fundamentally impossible for him to survive a night in the Northern Border while severely injured! For these four and a half years, in the whole world, it's as if he had simply vanished. He..."

Heidelin opened her eyes, having no choice but to tell Valentiina the whole truth.

Perhaps she had also wanted to delay it a bit, but given Valentiina and Fischer's relationship, she was bound to ask no matter what. Could she always tell her that she didn't know where Fischer went, letting her search the world with hope for so long due to deception, only to tell her in the end that her husband had actually died long ago?

Which method was more cruel in the end?

Ilos didn't know either, but Heidelin believed the latter was crueler, so she had agreed in advance with Ilos that the moment Miss Valentiina woke up, they would tell her the truth and let her decide for herself what to do.

But just when Ilos was nervous thinking that after saying all this she would face an even more terrifying frost storm, a dead silence settled into the room, leaving only the breathing sounds of Heidelin and Ilos.

Valentiina just blankly looked at the two in front of her, watching them hesitate to speak and avert their gazes from her, avoiding the emotions she might produce after learning the truth...

She dazedly looked down at her own hands, and her perfectly intact legs hidden beneath the bedding, instantly falling silent.

She turned her head away. The very long, white hair that had been growing for four and a half years drooped down, completely blocking off all her expressions. They could only judge her current mood through the slightly trembling wings behind her and her drooping ears covered in down.

"Miss Valentiina..."

"Eldest Miss..."

But Valentiina merely lowered her head, softly saying:

"You guys go out first, I want to be alone for a bit."

Heidelin raised her hand, seeming to want to approach Valentiina, but ultimately let it drop powerlessly.

She silently cast a glance at the equally saddened Ilos beside her, then softly said:

"We're leaving now, Eldest Miss. We'll come back later to bring you some food... You... have a good rest."

"..."

Valentiina kept her head lowered, showing absolutely no response.

"Click."

Until the sound of the door closing came, and the auras of Heidelin and Ilos faded away bit by bit, only then did very obvious ice crystals drip down, tick-tock, from amidst Valentiina's lowered white hair.

The spot where the ice crystals fell coincided with the place she had been staring at all along, perfectly landing on her completely empty ring finger of her right hand.

So, it turned out she had been looking there this whole time.

That light ice-crystal tear seemed to hold an immeasurable amount of powerful strength. Ever since it descended, Valentiina's entire body seemed to tremble because of it.

Her head bowed lower and lower, and her trembling voice drifted over faintly:

"Liar..."

"We clearly agreed you would give me a ring..."

"We clearly agreed... to go see the Colorful-Winged Whales with me..."

Yet, accompanying these words of reprimand was not a bit of complaint or anger, there was only a despair and grief coming from an unknown place.

Her legs were already healed. Not only could she run, but she also had wings and could fly to very, very far away places...

All of this was what she had dreamed of in the past, yet for some unknown reason, now that she had obtained it all, her heart was still completely empty.

The trembling of her body grew faster and faster, accompanied by the increasing number of teardrops falling. She curled up her body in unbearable pain, wanting to alleviate that torment stemming from her heart.

"Wuwu... wuwu..."

The wings behind Valentiina seemed to feel her grief, closing in bit by bit until they wrapped her completely up.

But this was still not enough...

Suddenly, she seemed to feel that everything she had gained now was meaningless. It seemed like breaking free from the Turan family, dispelling the curse, and recovering her body were not enough, not enough to be happy, not enough to match the illusory happiness she had felt that night purely through the dream magic left behind by her mother.

Could it be that the illusion was so beautiful it made one yearn for it?

No, perhaps it was just because at that time, the person accompanying her in the illusion was real. And right now, everything she possessed was real, yet only that person keeping her company had vanished into the illusion of memories, making her unable to grasp his traces.

"Wuwu..."

Lying on the bed with her face covered in tears, her heart ached as if it was being chiseled through. The more she recalled, the more painful it was; the more she thought, the more suffocating it became.

She sobbed, regretting and wishing to return everything he had promised:

"I... I don't want the ring anymore... I don't want to go see the Colorful-Winged Whales anymore... Fischer..."

Naive, she perhaps could deceive herself, thinking that if she returned everything she requested, then the price of those requests would be given back to her.

But the empty room was so quiet. Facing her repentance and sadness, no sound answered her.

Only the destiny of her ancestors, which had once favored her, gave her a response.

Amidst that heart-wrenching, despairing crying, Valentiina's heart was pitch-black, but what was before her eyes grew brighter and brighter, as if "reality" had undergone additional changes in her eyes.

"Buzz, buzz, buzz!"

In her gradually brightening field of vision, Valentiina saw what appeared to be a flourishing city rising like the sun, where the flag of Naris fluttered.

She saw eerie machinery moving through it like blood, saw a creature using a tail to extract some substance from a middle-aged gentleman on a bed, and saw a golden sword snapped into several segments, gripped by an extremely powerful existence.

Coming head-on were tsunamis of heaven and earth splitting apart, and countless human figures suspended in the sky threatening to change the colors of heaven and earth. They were staring downwards expressionlessly, but Valentiina couldn't see their appearances clearly, nor did she know what they exactly were...

"The prophecy of world destruction... annihilation is coming, no one can escape..."

Following that, she heard a despairing shout seemingly originating from nowhere.

"Mother Goddess bless us! Mother Goddess!"

Then, she heard tens of thousands of devout prayers and smelled wisps of pleasant, delicate fragrance.

"Ware s sunawati hi sninsshuj s..."

At the very end, she seemed to hear streams of extremely chaotic, crazed raving with an unknown specific meaning.

When she wanted to trace the direction of that sound and discovered that the sound came from the sky, she lifted her head, wanting to see clearly what exactly was making the sound...

But what caught her eye was a scarlet color struggling, twisting, expanding and contracting within a pitch-dark starry sky, as if it wanted to devour everything.

"Ah!!"

In a split second, an intense pain instantly blossomed in Valentiina's brain as if pierced by ten thousand silver needles.

That scarlet power was so immense, seemingly penetrating along the illusory threads of destiny in an instant, smashing directly onto Valentiina's body.

She clutched her head in agony, her entire brain constantly repeating those crazed ravings, as if those ravings were about to break through the soil of Valentiina's head.

"Ding, ding, ding~"

Just when she was in so much agony she wanted to die immediately, a crisp bell chime suddenly rang by her ears.

In an instant, her entire body was covered in blooming pink flowers. By the time those pink flowers disappeared once again, Valentiina's condition instantaneously rebounded, as if returning to one minute ago, before she had seen those prophecies.

But the contents of those prophecies were already deeply engraved into her mind.

"You... small fry... just what exactly did you see... to actually agitate the chaos in the Spirit World... Cough, cough, cough..."

"It's a prophecy, a prophecy of the Phoenix... Wait, you..."

It was exactly at this moment that a weak and feeble child's voice suddenly appeared in Valentiina's mind. She was extremely familiar with this child's voice, as if she had just met her...

Wait, she actually had seen her!

"Tao?"

"...It's me."

"Why are you... wait, you're in my mind? And you're still speaking. Is this a hallucination?"

"No... I was just forced by circumstances to temporarily transfer my consciousness from my mother's root into your body."

"Then you're a ghost now?"

"More or less. Actually, I died a very long time ago. Relying entirely on mother's attachment and that damned chaos, by a strange combination of circumstances, my branch grew out of mother's root again."

"Specifically? How did you... do it?"

"Specifically... has nothing to do with you. Why are you asking so much?"

"My husband... my husband died. I want to know... is there any way to resurrect him?"

"You want me to resurrect your lover?"

"Mm!"

Valentiina instantaneously grasped onto hope and sat up from the bed. She didn't even pursue why Tao had appeared in her mind, actually asking this first instead, rendering the Tao in her mind speechless.

After a moment of silence, she said helplessly:

"When did your husband die, and how did he die? Tell me the specific situation."

"My husband is called Fischer Benavides, he..."

"Wait!"

But before her words could be finished, the tone of Tao in her mind suddenly became agitated, as if incredulous. She stressed her tone and repeatedly asked Valentiina:

"Small-fry Phoenix, say that one more time. What is your husband's name?"

"Fischer... Fischer Benavides, what's wrong?"

"..."

An eerie dead silence drifted over in her mind.

"...Tao?"

After several seconds, Valentiina couldn't resist asking again:

"I'll... continue speaking..."

"Heheh, there's no need to say anymore, small fry..."

In her mind, Tao spoke up again with a sneer. Only this time, Valentiina astutely noticed that in terms of tone, Tao's tone seemed somewhat amiss, as if she was saying these words while gnashing her teeth.

"...Being pursued by death... the chaos residing in a Transferred Person... the Tear of the World Tree..."

"So it's like this... so it's like this..."

Tao's muttering to herself continually drifted out in her mind. Her words of seemingly having figured something out scratched an itch in the heart of Valentiina, who was very worried about Fischer and thought she had grasped hope. She couldn't help but ask:

"What do you mean... what have you been talking about..."

"I got it, small fry. Don't interrupt my thinking... Right now there are two pieces of news, one good news and one bad news. I'd like to tell you the good news first."

"Good news?"

"The good news is, that dead-ghost husband of yours is still alive, and moreover is living perfectly fine."

"What did you say?! Fischer is still alive, then where is he? How is he now? And how do you..."

"Don't be in a rush, there is also bad news..."

"Say it."

"The bad news is, although he might still be alive right now, he isn't far from death either..."

Tao's punch-attracting words suddenly restrained themselves at this moment, becoming extremely serious, and she said:

"Chaos... might have already set its sights on him."

"Chaos has set its sights on him? What is chaos? Is it very dangerous?"

"...I told you, don't interrupt me, you small-fry Phoenix. Let me finish first, I have a very important matter to tell you, or rather, do you want to perish together with this world and that dead-ghost husband of yours?"

Valentiina pursed her lips. Worry for Fischer in her heart caused her to not dare interrupt Lord Tao's words in her mind, at most muttering softly to refute:

"He's not a dead ghost..."

"Heheh..."

Hearing this, Tao suddenly chuckled profoundly. It was unknown whether she had recalled certain matters from a very, very long time ago, such as the Transferred Person and the angel closely related to Fischer whom she had seen while in the Tree Continent.

But she didn't provide any explanation, merely continuing:

"Listen well, small-fry Phoenix, I have already introduced myself to you previously. I am Tao, one of the three Elf Children. You probably aren't clear exactly what Elves are. After all, while I was alive, your group of small-fry ancestors fell into the abyss of chaos because they had no brains, ending up with their entire race exterminated... You only need to know that Elves are a race far stronger than your ancestors, and I am the only surviving existence of this race."

Valentiina wanted to refute this incomparably arrogant Elf, but she suddenly thought, if the Elves were a race somewhat stronger than the Phoenixes, then they should be...

"You guys are Mythical Species?"

"Quite smart. We are Mythical Species created by our mother, the World Tree, living in the Tree Continent for generations, which is the place where you Phoenixes resided before moving... Strictly speaking, your ancestors' ancestors were the people of my two siblings. It's just that they couldn't be considered easy to deal with, so when mother lost the Loom, and Fafnir stole her roots and threw them into the Northern Border, your ancestors took the opportunity to follow the roots and moved here..."

Valentiina didn't know if the Phoenixes counted as her ancestors either. After all, the Turan family had stolen the Phoenix bloodline using extremely despicable means. However, having been acknowledged by the Moon Princess, she had also received the recognition of her mother and brothers...

As for the Mythical Species Lord Tao spoke of, Valentiina actually had a rough concept in her heart, knowing how powerful that strength was.

Thinking back to how the Phoenixes had taken a risk in desperation because of the threat of the Mythical Species named "Baimon", attempting to leverage the power of Spirit World Contamination for the entire race to enter the Mythical Rank, unexpectedly leading to the annihilation of the entire race in the end.

Thousands of years later, that already incredibly terrifying Erwind was still just a hair's breadth away from the Mythical Rank, unable to cross that step until death.

Yet for this group of Elves, since the moment they were born, the lowest, absolute lowest among them were Mythical Species. This could truly be called ironic.

But this also gave Valentiina a question. She asked Lord Tao:

"Since you Mythical Species Elves are so powerful, why are you the only one left by now?"

"...Because of chaos, and also because of war."

"Chaos? Is that the thing that set its sights on Fischer? Exactly what kind of thing is that to be so... terrifying?"

Lord Tao lowered her voice a bit, but still explained to Valentiina:

"The so-called chaos is actually a power originating from outside the world. Perhaps it comes from an existence outside the world that is even stronger than the gods. The rules operating reality within the Spirit World were all created by the gods. When powers from outside the world produce effects, the Rules will be influenced, resulting in immeasurable damage, hence the name 'chaos'...

"In the very beginning, these chaotic powers all lodged themselves into some Transferred Persons who entered this world for unknown reasons. Those guys were all humans, and their minds carried Chaotic Knowledge resembling malignant tumors. If left unchecked, that Chaotic Knowledge would take root and sprout in their minds, ultimately bearing evil fruit and bringing disaster. For this, we once exhausted the world's power to exterminate them. I once killed hundreds of Transferred Persons, but it was to no avail..."

Tao's voice was low, as if recalling a nightmare that had no end:

"Transferred Persons are merely carriers of Chaotic Knowledge. After killing them, it wouldn't be long before new Transferred Persons descended bearing the same knowledge. The only way to solve it once and for all would be to completely record all that Chaotic Knowledge down, and this would require letting the Chaotic Knowledge in their minds grow to its absolute peak. This is an unsolvable loop; the only way to continuously stop chaos from breeding is to let it thrive, and this will inevitably produce disasters.

"In the past, the arrogant me didn't realize this point, naively believing that as long as I found Transferred Persons and quickly killed them, even if this process had to be repeated time and time again, it would solve the problem... However, a flaw still arose. A Transferred Person thrived right under my nose. Early on, Transferred Persons were all too normal—they were also lively, flesh-and-blood souls, not giving anyone the slightest inkling of their danger.

"This disguise deceived Destiny, miraculously permitting him to survive, taking root and sprouting in the Tree Continent. Of course, there might have been other fully-fledged Transferred Persons helping him. In short, the Chaotic Knowledge in that Transferred Person's body grew day by day until it fully matured. When he finally erupted, a disaster sufficient to make my mother pay with her life instantly swept across the Tree Continent..."

Tao didn't continue speaking any further, nor did she say what exactly had occurred back then, as if merely mentioning it would bring pain.

The past was like a seamless cage, trapping the Tao who had been the most adept at this path in the world.

Fortunately, right now she was parasitizing a Phoenix who could look towards the future.

Feeling her dejection, Valentiina hurriedly spoke up, shifting the topic to something else:

"Then what if they were recorded down? If Transferred Persons are no longer produced, and that knowledge is restricted to paper, wouldn't the harm be much smaller?"

"...Perhaps. Although many terrifying disasters were caused by Transferred Persons, after they grew to maturity and preserved their knowledge in some way, the disasters gradually vanished without a trace. But I do not believe the source of this Chaotic Knowledge would be so kind as to make everything foolproof just by recording them down. The incidents that occurred in the Spirit World, the World-Ending Prophecies, the war caused by that false god, and that dead-ghost husband of yours are all supporting evidence."

Hearing the four clues, Valentiina automatically zeroed in on the last item, hurriedly asking:

"What does this have to do with Fischer? Shouldn't you have... died a very, very long time ago? How could you know Fischer? Could it be that during the fierce battle between the Sycamore Tree and the Base back then, you were also conscious, which is why..."

"Heheh, at that time my consciousness was slumbering within the root, unable to feel anything. If it weren't for your approach allowing my branch to come into contact with another soul, I probably would never have left there, waiting to head towards destruction alongside the world... I have indeed met him, but that was a very, very long time ago. Around ten thousand years ago?"

"Ten thousand years ago?! Then hasn't he lived for ten thousand years?"

Valentiina instantaneously doubted the truthfulness of this fellow Tao's words. Or could it be that Fischer had actually lived for ten thousand years, and the person she fell in love with and married was a ten-thousand-year-old geezer?

This was also truly... too surprising and hard to accept (though Fischer easily accepted it, it was unknown whether he should be praised for it).

"Do you have the brains of a pig, you small-fry Phoenix?"

Fortunately, Lord Tao's mocking voice splashed a basin of cold water on her unrealistic illusions.

"He hasn't lived for ten thousand years, but returned to the past after leaving you. When I saw him, he was being pursued by the Rule of Death. I was still curious, why is it that even we Mythical Species don't know where the Goddess of Death slumbers, yet he was directly pursued by the Rule of Death... At the time, I even suspected he had an intimate bedchamber relationship with the Goddess of Death, so..."

"What intimate relationship? You're not allowed to say that! He..."

Lord Tao chuckled, ignoring the little Phoenix who suddenly experienced a stress response with a flushed face, merely continuing:

"I won't say it then... But now I finally know why. The Authority of Death only became entwined with chaos and exposed after the events of the Ideal State. In other words, he returned to the past from the future, this way everything makes sense."

"Returning to the past from the future? Is this possible?"

"It's exactly because it's impossible that I say that dead-ghost husband of yours has run into major trouble."

Lord Tao's tone abruptly grew serious. She replied to Valentiina while gnashing her teeth:

"When he broke the Rule of Destiny to return to the past, he shouldn't have known just how special he was. It was also after the Ideal State, after I had multiple clashes with chaos, that I gradually realized something was amiss... When he was in the Tree Continent, he once detonated the chaotic mark hidden on him to threaten me. That was chaos power at the True God level. Once it erupted, the surrounding Rules would all warp and collapse. I suspect he relied on this method to detonate the Rule of Destiny, catapulting him back to the past...

"But at that time, that chaos clearly erupted on him, yet everything about him hadn't undergone any obvious changes! In other words, when he still wasn't at the Mythical Rank back then, all the 'Rules' that comprised his existence didn't collapse as I feared!"

Valentiina completely couldn't understand what this meant, only dazedly wondering:

"Is this very... special? Does it mean Fischer has some resistance to chaos?"

Lord Tao sighed, popularizing science for Valentiina:

"Small fry, you must know that all the matter and existences you see today are secondary derivatives from countless layers beneath powers of divine Authority. Whether it's destiny, matter, life... or soul, they are all creations that have decayed countless times from the Authorities of the gods. Consequently, being weak, they don't possess the terrifying energy and properties of the original Authorities, possessing only fragile facades, enabling the possibility of world Rules combining and reacting...

"Therefore, the gods can place souls into lives, allowing lives to exist in matter, to walk within destiny, to unite body and soul, giving birth to new Rules and new powerful strengths. But when a living being's power gradually grows stronger, it will gradually develop properties of Authority. For example, once Mythical Species exert their power, they react with the surrounding Rules. Once I exert my power, peach blossoms will bloom everywhere. These are all phenomena of surrounding Rules being repelled and interfered with...

"Can you imagine, when this power becomes as powerful as a god's, what kind of terrifying reaction it would have on the surrounding Rules? This is why, even if the world's chaos reaches this degree, and the Chief God's most beloved child died before Him, He absolutely could not exert His power to intervene in the slightest. Even that false god who engaged in a fierce battle with the Chain of Heaven and Fafnir was the same. He never utilized his Authority during the war, only competing against the two demigods with terrifying magic.

"As for that dead-ghost husband of yours, when chaos at the level of a True God's Authority burst forth within his body, he actually remained unaffected, jumping around alive and kicking like a person who had nothing wrong with them, and could even retract that chaos back into his body. Such properties are not something the Rules of this world can achieve... I even suspect that all the Rules comprising his existence are forged, and he isn't a normally derived human. In other words, his flesh, his soul, the way he converged into this world's destiny, his means of contacting matter—all of it has been artificially fabricated..."

Valentiina widened her eyes, listening to Lord Tao's terrifying speculation in her mind with disbelief. She couldn't help but ask in return:

"You mean, Fischer was artificially created by an existence?"

"I can't be certain either, but it's highly probable... Does he have parents?"

"He has an adoptive mother. He is an adopted orphan."

"...Then that should be it. I just don't dare imagine what kind of fellow the person who created him exactly is, to actually possess such capability."

"But... why? Is there any meaning to creating Fischer?"

"Small fry, you must know that right now, all the varying parts comprising him are essentially direct creations of chaos. In other words, different from the secondary derivatives of ordinary Authorities, his entire body from top to bottom is chaos capable of causing my mother's death... Yet even those instances of chaos are incompatible. Those Transferred Persons absolutely could not stay together for too long, otherwise, they would produce antagonism. The books recording Chaotic Knowledge should have inherited this property as well."

Lord Tao incisively spat out all her inner thoughts, presenting Valentiina a truth concerning "Fischer" using experiences spanning across the entire past:

"These properties actually all stem from Authorities. Because of antagonism and repulsion between Authorities, no Transferred Person could bear two different powers of chaos. But this world isn't without exceptions. Certain extremely special, powerful existences are sufficient to accommodate more than one Authority, but it's certain that such existences are definitely exceedingly rare... Legend has it that the Chief God Ramastia possesses two Authorities, it's just that no one knows what His other Authority besides Life is. All other deities possess one, and only one, Authority...

"However, that Fischer, the person who created him disguised the powers of at least six chaotic Authorities as fragile secondary derivatives akin to most living beings in this world, forcefully fabricating him into a human. If it weren't for that time when the chaos of a True God directly erupted within him and he remained completely unaffected, I probably wouldn't even have discovered exactly how special his comprised existence was. But I believe that in the eyes of True Gods, he certainly resembles a treasure that grew two legs, running around every day right in front of Them, and even got married and picked up girls...

"Moreover, this specialness doesn't actually originate from the existence that created him, but from himself. That existence utilized his specialness, packaging this specialness into a life placed to walk freely in this world... That the six chaotic powers coupled with the direct eruption of a True God's Authority left him perfectly intact sufficiently explains that he can accommodate even more Authorities that should originally mutually repel each other. And such properties are something even True Gods dream of attaining...

"He lives within the world constructed by our deities. The gods might not have discovered his existence, or perhaps they have discovered his existence but value the world they created more than him, this dazzlingly brilliant treasure. As for that chaos, the source of that chaos... I can only be certain that he has now been targeted by chaos, falling into an extremely dangerous predicament."

Valentiina clutched her bedding, her heart a mix of joy and sorrow. Of course, the joy was because Fischer was still alive and sounded like he was living perfectly fine. But the sorrow... the sorrow was because in this instant, she suddenly heard so very many concepts that surpassed the levels of her cognition, comprehension, and capabilities.

Mythical Species weren't enough? Dealing with demigods above them? Demigods also weren't enough, what about True Gods? But this world was all sheltered by several True Gods. What if even They couldn't do anything about that chaos?

Yet she didn't become dispirited. That obstruction akin to a heavenly chasm separating her didn't defeat this Phoenix who had once lost both her legs. She quickly recovered from that blow. After pondering for a moment, with a solemn expression, she spoke to the Elf within her mind:

"Tao... Lord Tao, you are an Elf a hundred, a thousand times stronger than me, while I am merely a Phoenix who's only just inherited my ancestor's bloodline... I am truly dense and don't know what to do. Please help me, what should I do? What must I do to save my husband... To me, he's absolutely not some precious item inciting contention, he is just him, a living, breathing person, and the one I have entrusted the rest of my life to, so I..."

Listening to Valentiina's pleading voice, Lord Tao in her mind also appeared somewhat hesitant. Much later, her voice gradually drifted over:

"...To be honest, actually a very long time ago, I stopped holding any expectations for the destiny of this world. I believe it is bound for destruction. Even though I exerted so much effort for my compatriots and my homeland, I still ended up with the outcome of my own death and the extermination of my race."

"But we can still try, can't we? You are still alive; the hope of your mother and your compatriots still rests upon you. Elves and Phoenixes still exist in this world, and rarely would anyone else in this world know as much as you do. You pondered for so long, acquired so much, is it just to lie in a grave holding them, then helplessly watch as everything is destroyed?"

"..."

Lord Tao was somewhat hesitant, perhaps because of confusion.

Valentiina felt this way because of that dead-ghost husband of hers; she had once been redeemed by him, full of sincerity and hopes of not submitting to fate.

But what about herself?

Did she still have any goal worth rushing towards?

No matter what, her mother and all her compatriots had still died due to chaos and war. Every existence she knew had aged in the long river of time. What she had struggled for after rushing about for so long ended up being all for naught down to today.

Yet reaching the end, she didn't answer Valentiina, instead asking:

"Just now you said you saw prophecies. What did you see?"

"Eh?"

Valentiina hadn't expected her to suddenly ask this sentence. Pondering for a moment, she still replied honestly:

"I saw... Naris, that is, the human city. I saw a snapped golden sword, saw a tsunami... and that scarlet Spirit World Contamination."

Mm, a scene of absolute ruin, practically a gloomy prospect for the future.

"...In the past, I also had a younger sister. She was the only Elf in our group capable of seizing the future. But she fled, disappeared, and we didn't know where she went until returning during the final war. I don't know if it's because of her departure that we've always been very confused and fearful towards the future. Only when that moment arrives and becomes the present, only when that present also passes and becomes the past, can we feel at peace enough to reminisce.

"In this sense, you Phoenixes, who obtained the future from the Loom yet left the Tree Continent, are like an omen. Even if the future is seen, nothing will change anyway... But perhaps those Phoenixes were right. If one doesn't look toward the future, not even the possibility of change exists..."

Lord Tao didn't even know why she had said so much about her husband to this Phoenix just now. Simply because she asked, and coincidentally she herself knew?

No, she felt this resembled an opportunity even more.

The remnant roots of her mother became the lodging place for her consciousness; the power of chaos preserved her broken body, allowing her to scrape along until today; the bloodline of the Phoenix capable of seeing through the future intersected with her, bringing her out of the cage of the past; and her husband just happened to be the treasure coveted by chaos, waiting for her to rescue him...

In the uncharted darkness, everything seemed to be ordained by fate, as if it was the World Tree giving Tao a second try, letting her walk out of the past she was adept at and step into an unknown future...

Amidst the silence, Tao suddenly spoke up to Valentiina again:

"Small fry, rescuing your husband cannot be rushed. Especially regarding his specialness, you absolutely must not tell anyone other than me. That Fischer never noticed the abnormalities on his own body from start to finish. It's hard to say whether it's the idea of the gods or the conspiracy of chaos. But what can be certain is, he must currently be surrounded by chaos on all sides. You have a deep relationship with him, it's hard to guarantee whether you have also been targeted by chaos or not, be sure not to alert the enemy...

"Before going to find him, you have to handle the matters around you first. Confronting chaos head-on will definitely be extremely difficult. I, at the Nineteenth-Tier, have already tried it, ending up without even a hair left. You are merely a Fourteenth-Tier small-fry Phoenix, best not to court death... You absolutely cannot rush, you cannot end up doing him a disservice because of your love for him. We must first find out his special aspects, and it would be best if we can find out exactly what sacred existence created him, seizing the initiative in our hands."

Valentiina nervously cast a glance at the surroundings, deeply afraid that some chaos was eavesdropping on her conversation. Fortunately, everything just now was said by her within her mind to Tao, so it shouldn't have been exposed.

"Then what should I do?"

"Do whatever you're supposed to be doing. Repair this battered place a bit, develop your forces, give me time to rest and nourish myself, pretend to look for your missing dead-ghost husband, and while you're at it, get jealous over that dead-ghost husband's other lovers... We'll act secretly like this, and then..."

"What?! Lovers?!! He... still has o-other lovers?!"

But it seemed Valentiina only heard certain words among them. These words instantly triggered Valentiina, making her even unable to control the conversation within her mind, causing her to directly yell out loud.

"...Yes, yes, exactly like this. You've gotten into character very quickly, worthy of praise, small-fry Phoenix."

Lord Tao, watching the fun without fearing trouble, smilingly commented in her mind on Valentiina's performance in that sentence just now. Although residing in her mind, she wouldn't share her feelings, nor would she know Valentiina's sensation of burning with jealousy right now.

"Could it be Elizabeth or that Iceberg Queen? I don't suppose that after I went to sleep, he went and..."

"Mm-hmm, and there's no telling where that True God level chaotic mark on his body came from either. That mark broke the fabricated destiny upon him, catapulting him back to the past, probably to help him escape death... Eh? If that's the case, then that existence doesn't know about his specialness either? Mm, but that existence definitely values him greatly. If you ask me, he might have already been deceived by chaos... If chaos pretended to be a woman even prettier and more beautiful than you, that dead-ghost husband of yours would've probably..."

"Bang!"

Valentiina stood up with a dark face, looking absolutely burning with jealousy, assuming an appearance of wanting to settle scores with someone...

Mm, but at least from Lord Tao's perspective, she was sufficiently full of energy?

This is good then, this is good then.

"Knock, knock..."

"Eldest Miss, are you feeling any better?"

Following a crisp knocking sound, the door was slowly pushed open, revealing Heidelin outside with a somewhat worried expression.

At this moment, she was pushing a silver-white dining cart loaded with some food. Most of it was traditional thick soups of the Northern Border, specially prepared by Heidelin for Valentiina whose body hadn't fully recovered yet.

Unexpectedly, her sudden opening of the door startled Valentiina inside the room, causing her to hurriedly spread her wings and encircle herself. Amidst the slightly trembling cyan down feathers, Heidelin could only see that pair of bright, watery eyes.

Only after seeing that the person who pushed the door and entered was Heidelin, rather than some abominable and terrifying creature of chaos, did Valentiina heave a sigh of relief and slowly lower her guarded wings:

"Much... much better..."

Heidelin tilted her head, seeming to have some doubts, but still pushed the dining cart inside:

"Did I scare you, Eldest Miss?"

Valentiina smiled and shook her head, then said:

"...How could you? Heidelin, you are my most trusted person, and not some terrifying monster, how could you scare me? I was just thinking about some things a moment ago, so..."

Heidelin reached out and cupped her own cheek, the emerald coronet binding her black hair atop her head also tilting slightly. Looking at Valentiina, she asked doubtfully:

"Eldest Miss, regarding the matter of Fischer..."

"...I don't believe Fischer is already dead. He's so formidable, he must still be alive, it's just that I don't know where he is yet. Heidelin, I want to search for him, can you help me?"

Heidelin quietly looked at her just like this. Seeing Valentiina's resolute and certain gaze, after a moment of silence, she finally smiled bitterly and said:

"When have I ever disobeyed Eldest Miss's wishes? I will help you, Eldest Miss. But before that, let's eat a little something first. By the way, I also brought some clothes over, specially prepared for our Lord Phoenix..."

Heidelin smilingly took out a piece of clothing from beneath the dining cart that looked quite luxurious and beautiful. Its style was strange, and Valentiina had never seen it before, only feeling it was similar to the Phoenix attire she had seen in the dream magic back then.

At this time, Lord Tao in her mind yawned and spoke up:

"Not bad craftsmanship. It's the style Wu and Tong liked, and should also be the attire of you Phoenixes."

Heidelin completely couldn't hear Lord Tao's voice in her mind. She displayed the front and back of this gorgeous dress to Valentiina, explaining for her while Valentiina drank the soup:

"There are quite a few Phoenix clothes inside the Frostwood Sycamore Tree, it's just that a very long time has passed, and practically none can be worn anymore... I could only try to imitate and make one following the style. Let Eldest Miss put it all on and try it out later."

Valentiina took a sip of the mushroom soup Heidelin made, smiling and nodding. The food Heidelin made was as extremely delicious as before. With one mouthful, her entire body felt warm and toasty, as if wanting to awaken every part of her body that had slumbered for four and a half years.

It was exactly at this time that she suddenly thought of something, and said to Heidelin:

"Right, Heidelin, earlier you said it was the Iceberg Queen who rescued me from beside the World Tree root? That Alajina? Why did she come to the Sycamore Tree?"

"Ah, her..."

Heidelin roughly informed Valentiina of Alajina's current circumstances, especially how she was betrayed by her ally, Chief Black, pursued by Naris, didn't have a peaceful time after arriving in the Northern Border, and was even set up by the Turan family to be offered to Naris.

In the end, it was still the Slimes who discovered them and extended an olive branch, which was why they ascended the snowy mountain.

As she spoke, Heidelin thought of something else, tapped her chin, and said to Valentiina:

"Also, hmm... they brought many very interesting machines with them, the kind that emit blue light. I don't know if it's an illusion, but I always feel... they're somewhat similar to those Snowflake Knights in the family. But in comparison, that group of pirates has more machines on them, and they seemingly can even talk, it's just that we can't understand what he's saying..."

"Cardinals, huh..."

Valentiina swallowed all the soup in the bowl into her stomach. After pondering for a moment, she placed the bowl in her hand down and picked up the clothes beside her, wanting to put them on:

"I want to go see her... Heidelin, how exactly is this dress worn, and how do I tuck my wings inside?"

"Is Eldest Miss going to see her right now? They are probably discussing matters with the leaders of the Six Tribes. Although meeting with them is necessary, I feel it would still be better to rest a bit..."

"It doesn't matter. I've already slept for so long, if I keep sleeping my body is going to rust."

"...Alright."

Heidelin smiled helplessly, helping Valentiina pick up her clothes, from the undergarments to the skirt on the outside, helping her dress neatly one by one.

Outside the door was the standard suspended high-tower tunnel of the Phoenixes. Normally Heidelin would slowly walk down along the stairs, but as a Phoenix, Valentiina could obviously fly up with ease.

She didn't have flying experience, but because she had tried it in the dream magic, she could quickly get the hang of it now, flapping her giant wings as if warming up.

"I'm heading out, Heidelin."

"Mm, be careful, Eldest Miss, you've only just grown wings..."

"Okay."

"Boom!"

But in the next moment, Valentiina fiercely spread her wings, carrying a violent tempest akin to an ice storm mixed with the explosive sound of air as she flapped her wings and headed upwards. It seemed Heidelin's reminder was completely superfluous.

She only stood in place, holding the emerald coronet on her head, allowing the elegant attire on her body to be blown wildly by the wind. For some unknown reason, the expression on her face didn't change in the slightest, still maintaining that smiling, gentle expression, as tender and kind as an understanding elder.

Only after Valentiina had flown far away within the Sycamore Tree, heading towards the council chamber pointed out to her earlier, did Heidelin finally sigh and walk back into the room Valentiina rested in.

She walked forward, first neatly tidying up the tableware Valentiina had used one by one, as meticulous as a true, competent maid.

Next was organizing the bed; even the bedding scattered on the bed had to be smoothed out.

It was exactly at this time that Heidelin, while organizing the bedding, caught a glimpse from the corner of her eye of a faint trace of pink amidst the folds between the pillow and bedding.

She paused for a split second, then extended her fair fingers and gave a gentle pinch, picking up that pink color...

That was a peach blossom petal, tainted with a trace of weird, scarlet aura.

"Kononinnihamugasmujin s, mu shuj smu hisashi mono s gaarimasu"

The moment it entered her hands, streams of terrifying murmurs and raving sounds instantly exploded beside her ears, as if preparing to stage a comeback from some illusory place to devour and annihilate everything.

But Heidelin seemed completely oblivious to any abnormality. She merely smiled at the peach blossom in her hand, raised her index finger gently, and placed it before her lips:

"Shush..."

"..."

Facing her gentle reminder, the terrifying ravings by her ears instantaneously ceased, and along with it, the peach blossom tainted by it lost its color bit by bit, turning into ashes and gradually reducing to nothingness.

Everything quieted down. Heidelin elegantly tidied her coronet, then leisurely pushed the dining cart out of the room while humming an unknown little tune, leaving behind a perfectly neat and absolutely quiet room.

"Right, Lord Tao, how can I nourish you and let you restore your condition?"

It was exactly during the flight that Valentiina suddenly thought of this matter and inquired Lord Tao in her mind.

"How else can you nourish me? You small fry, just let me bask in the sun when you have nothing to do, and then water me. That will do."

"Just like this?"

"Just like this."

"Pfft..."

"What are you laughing at, small-fry Phoenix?"

"Nothing... it just feels like I'm really raising a tree."

"Heheh, Phoenix small fry, do you believe I can turn you into a tree to raise right now?"

"Sorry..."

Valentiina embarrassedly stuck out her tongue. As she flew all the way up, quite a few members of the Six Tribes of the Snowy Mountains inside the surrounding Sycamore Tree noticed that figure soaring upwards carrying frost.

Although they had never met, that figure seemingly engraved into their bloodlines still caused them to exclaim in surprise involuntarily. Some even directly knelt down and worshipped her.

"But where is your body? Is it at the root? Do I need to move the World Tree root out to bask in the sun and water it?"

"...I see you're tired of living. No need for such trouble, I can sprout out a tiny bit of my main body, you just let it contact the sun and water it."

"Sprout out?"

In the next second, with a "poof" sound, a slanted peach blossom bud grew out from the top of Valentiina's silver hair, resembling an ahoge, trembling constantly in the wind. That itchy sensation frightened Valentiina into hurriedly covering her head, exclaiming in her mind:

"Y-y-y-you're on my head?!"

"Where else?"

"How is this done?"

"The chaotic power related to life, I fought it head-on. Although I survived, I had a portion of me contaminated by it, but because of this, by a strange combination of circumstances, I acquired some of its properties..."

"I see, no wonder you only need to bask in the sun to be nourished."

"Heheh, small fry, perhaps one day I can even grow directly out of your head?"

Valentiina pursed her lips and cautiously touched the blooming flower on her head, but in the next moment, it retracted back with a "swish", vanishing without a trace; it should have hidden back inside.

Very quickly, she arrived at the council chamber, which was the place where the Phoenix Base was previously presented.

The massive doors were wide open. At the doorway, two blockheaded Giant Troll-kin were rubbing the backs of their heads. Not knowing to greet Valentiina when she arrived, they merely looked curiously at this beautiful Demi-human Race they had never seen before, seemingly asking silently:

"Where did you come from? How come I ain't never seen ya?"

Valentiina smiled helplessly, walked past them, and entered the corridor of the council chamber. From afar, she saw that giant throne within the massive space, as well as the extremely exquisite divine weapon lying on that throne.

That was the Sword of the Phoenix King.

Along with it, there were also several voices conversing:

"...In other words, inside the ruins of the Stormsea, you guys and Chief Black excavated very many items like this? They're called... Cardinals?"

"I've seen this kind of thing before, in the Turan family. But the energy they utilize is not quite the same as what you guys use. The things they need are Moonstones, yet your energy doesn't seem to be that."

"Mm, ever since obtaining these things a few years ago, we've never recharged them, yet they can still be used... Perhaps these energies come from the sun?"

Valentiina walked quickly into the council chamber. In merely an instant, everyone felt a cold wind seemingly howling over from the snowy mountains in the winter of the Northern Border. Their gazes all looked towards the doorway in disbelief, at the tall-statured, exceedingly beautiful and sacred Demi-human Race.

"Buzz, buzz, buzz!"

The precious sword on the throne that had been dead silent for thousands of years began to vibrate uncontrollably. Even the back of Alajina's neck, sitting on the right side of the newly added table below the throne, began to emit fluorescence, as if attracted by the existence before her eyes.

The several individuals present: First was the Slime King Barion, sitting not far away on the left side of the table. He was too large and couldn't be seated; even the Phoenix's throne was too small for him, so he just sucked on a pacifier and rubbed his large belly while listening to the others speak.

Next were the Snow Fox-kin Patriarch Dar, the Azurebird-kin Patriarch Hamlia, and the Giant Troll-kin Elder Darivuvu sitting in their seats in that order.

On the right side was Alajina's group, respectively the Alajina clutching her right hand wrapped in heavy bandages, First Mate Pakhz, Second Mate Azurebird-kin Aoxi, and... mm, a Nali Person who looked quite wild but still beautiful?

On the tabletop were placed several bizarrely shaped yet harmoniously beautiful... machines, seemingly the very exact objects they were researching just now.

Upon seeing Valentiina enter, the several patriarchs on the left all stood up. After a brief observation, they respectfully bowed. Even Barion, who couldn't stand up, untied the Slime Crown wrapped by tentacles on his head and lowered his head slightly to her:

"Lord Phoenix..."

Hearing this, everyone on the right also looked at Valentiina to behold the true face of the race that only existed in legends.

"Eh? Isn't this that Turan family's..."

Even though Valentiina's external appearance had undergone heaven-to-earth turning changes now, there was still a limit to the changes on her face, not reaching the point of being completely unrecognizable.

Pakhz recognized Valentiina's identity with a single glance. They had once encountered each other on the Southern Ocean, and she had even been robbed of a scroll by her and the people she hired back then.

But when she was only halfway through speaking, Alajina stretched out her bandage-wrapped right hand and interrupted her subsequent words.

She merely looked quietly at this Phoenix. For some unknown reason, she always felt an extremely special feeling in the unseen world towards the person before her eyes... Mm, perhaps not a good feeling? Alajina also couldn't explain clearly.

She just led the people beside her to stand up like those patriarchs, and also bowed politely to her:

"Miss Valentiina, to finally meet again today, it is truly an honor."

At this moment, Valentiina's height was already roughly the same as Alajina's, even a bit taller than Fischer, so she looked at Alajina levelly, completely unlike looking up from a wheelchair as before.

Ultimately, Alajina had a special feeling towards Valentiina, didn't Valentiina likewise have one towards her? Moreover, it was a kind that Valentiina recognized more clearly than Alajina.

One must know, when she first got to know Fischer, Valentiina even suspected Fischer was Alajina's paramour. Otherwise, it fundamentally couldn't explain how he, a man, could stay so properly on a ship entirely composed of citizens of the Sardin Woman's Country.

Although Fischer later married her, Alajina, this Iceberg Queen, along with that Golden Empress of Nari, still made Valentiina feel like she had fishbones stuck in her throat. Now meeting again, she also didn't know what was good to say.

Could it be that she and Fischer were still secretly involved with each other?

But I am his wife. If you act like this, wouldn't it be bullying people too far?

Seemingly feeling her deliberation, Lord Tao in her mind spoke up and took a peek at the current situation, involuntarily guessing:

"You met your dead-ghost husband's lover so quickly? Gotta say, this progress is quite fast..."

"She is not Fischer's lover."

"If you say yes then it is. After all, you are his wife and have the authority to speak."

"..."

Valentiina took a deep breath. She still didn't grasp the situation over these four years and didn't have much understanding of the specific emotional status between Alajina and Fischer. Besides, it seemed like she was the one who rescued her from beside the World Tree root just now; that bandage-wrapped arm of hers was proof...

She remembered Lord Tao's reminder. Although it didn't seem applicable right now, she indeed couldn't be impatient.

Valentiina suppressed the wisps of ripples in her heart, difficultly shifting her gaze away from Alajina and looking towards the several tribe patriarchs beside her.

Aside from Dar and Darivuvu who already knew Valentiina and just smiled at her, the other two tribes both introduced themselves:

"Lord Phoenix, I am the Azurebird-kin Hamlia from the Sardin Woman's Country. Under the radiance of the Phoenix, I resolved to lead my surviving compatriots to return to our homeland of the Sycamore Tree. To finally see the true face of the Phoenix today, I am truly grateful and excited, and am willing to serve Lord Phoenix like a dog or horse..."

"Hello, little Phoenix. I am the current patriarch of the Slime-kin, Barion. Although we haven't met before, we share some history... That Slime sigil was precisely retrieved for you by that Mr. Fischer who came to my Borderland."

Barion, with a cute face full of baby fat, chuckled "hehe", chewing on his pacifier, every sentence and every word seemingly containing some sort of profound meaning.

And when hearing the word "Fischer", Valentiina and Alajina's gazes practically simultaneously and concurrently landed on Barion in an instant. Yet the following "for you" uniquely caused Alajina's gaze to become tainted with a hint of an unclear implication.

She unavoidably cast a glance at this Phoenix who was filled with radiance, her gaze flashing with a hint of gloom for a moment...

"Hello, Patriarch Barion. Both my husband Fischer and I thank you for your help..."

Alajina froze slightly, that bandage-wrapped hand abruptly tightening. Following that, her gaze also carried a hint of disbelief, fiercely looking towards Valentiina as if confirming.

Meanwhile, the Pakhz beside her slammed the table with a "smack", looking extremely speechlessly and shockingly at Valentiina, then looked at Alajina, and subsequently exclaimed:

"Her dad, Captain, how come rescuing a Phoenix directly rescued your man away?! What kind of logic is this?"

"Wait, Pakhz..."

Alajina raised her hand with slightly trembling eyes, stopping Pakhz's words. But she didn't stop, merely looking at Valentiina and questioning once more:

"Miss Valentiina, what did you just say?"

Valentiina seemingly also looked at her with doubt, but in her eyes, there was a smear of extremely intense unquestionability.

She cast a glance at Darivuvu and the several patriarchs beside her, then said to Alajina:

"I said, Fischer is my husband... We even consummated our marriage and became husband and wife before the witness of Elder Darivuvu. We have the reality of being husband and wife... right, Elder Darivuvu?"

Alajina hurriedly looked at Darivuvu beside her, who was slightly taken aback. She seemed to have not yet reacted to what happened. Obviously, they were just discussing a meeting regarding the world situation and Cardinals with a captain who came to seek refuge in the Sycamore Tree, so why did it suddenly jump to this topic?

"Uh, this... that..."

Anyone with discerning eyes could see that the relationship between Lord Phoenix and this Captain Alajina was somewhat subtle. Subtle specifically lay upon the man introduced by that Barion, named "Fischer"...

Heaven have pity, she was just a female Giant Troll with a husband. Although she was exactly the same gender as Valentiina and Alajina, Giant Trolls were ultimately a species where Yin and Yang reversed. Therefore, from a perspective of concepts, Darivuvu's and Alajina's views were the closest.

In other words, from Darivuvu's point of view, what she was about to say next might be extremely cruel to Alajina...

She cast a glance at the Phoenix beside her, then looked at the instantly stunned Alajina. In the end, she still decided to be totally realistic and practical, merely saying everything she knew.

Thus, Darivuvu nodded and said:

"Uh, complying with the Moon Princess's posthumous edict... Valentiina indeed held a holy matrimony with that Fischer, possessing the reality of husband and wife, making them husband and wife."

"Rumble!"

This sentence, like a clap of thunder descending from the sky, threatened to pierce right through Alajina's soul.

The supporting evidence of the Giant Troll-kin Elder Darivuvu beside her truly resembled a bolt of thunder, absolutely threatening to shatter Alajina's soul entirely.

Even if she had encountered many more difficulties previously, or had people like Elizabeth and Renee competing with her, she wouldn't have felt it was anything much. Although she experienced setbacks in the situation, ultimately everything was not yet set in stone, and she still believed she had a chance...

But now, a woman who had genuinely consummated a marriage with Fischer stood before her. As a native-born citizen of the Sardin Woman's Country, the shock she received was absolutely unprecedented.

Iceberg Queen Alajina instantaneously froze in place, and the expressions of the several companions beside her also varied.

Pakhz froze slightly and was immediately dumbfounded in place as well.

Actually, from the perspective of Pakhz, this orthodox Sardin Woman's Country citizen, the union between of their country's women and Nali men was indeed somewhat strange. Under the influence of bloodline and culture, the genders of both men and women gradually converged, both becoming very dominant. But in Pakhz's view, Alajina and Fischer didn't have such problems.

Just like her and Old Jack. Although Old Jack was a Nali person, in Pakhz's view, he didn't possess the flaws that Nali men were criticized for. He wasn't promiscuous at all, was very steady, very responsible, and extremely kind...

And what about her own captain? Although she was a woman of the Sardin Woman's Country, her personality was very gentle. In her interactions with men, she wouldn't appear tit for tat. On the contrary, she was also very understanding and considerate, truly a rare good woman.

Although that Fischer also had some capabilities, there was just this one point that made Pakhz very worried. That fellow carried too many peach blossoms on his back; it was extremely easy for her own captain to unknowingly end up with a green prairie on her head.

Because of this matter, Pakhz had discussed it quite often with Alajina.

As her elder and teacher, regarding her lifelong marriage event, Pakhz had always been advising Alajina to give up on Fischer, as she didn't want Alajina to fall into that bad man's trap of lust.

However, unknown if it was because the more one lacks something, the more one likes it, a Woman's Country citizen like Alajina who was content with her lot and possessed an introverted personality unexpectedly actually favored a dangerous, bad man like Fischer. Having made up her mind to be tied down by him wholeheartedly, she kept even the paper airplane Fischer had given her, which had "My Queen" written on it, perfectly preserved.

Pakhz truly had no other option; after all, matters of the heart couldn't be persuaded away. However, previously Alajina had even happily told Pakhz that since Fischer left the Northern Border four and a half years ago, even though his physical condition was clearly abnormal, he still came to Pirate Port to see her and Old Jack, which moved her greatly.

Back then, Pakhz had thought that this Nali kid Fischer at least had some conscience and hadn't let down Captain Alajina's affections. Over these years, although Fischer's whereabouts had been unknown, she hadn't mentioned persuading Alajina to give up again either.

Who knew that after experiencing a whole bunch of rotten affairs and dangers, it was only when they arrived atop the Sycamore Tree of the Sema Mountains that they learned—good gracious, so before Fischer left the Northern Border to look for Alajina, he had already married this little girl from the Turan family!!

He was married!!

The nature of this matter surely spoke for itself regarding the Sardin Woman's Country and even the numerous nations of the West Continent. Even Naris, which frequently staged family and social ethics dramas, viewed the effects of marriage very heavily, much less the extremely traditional and pious Northern Border and Kadu nations.

The somewhat wrinkled skin on Pakhz's face couldn't stop trembling. She cast a glance beside her at the completely stiff Alajina, instantly feeling both sympathetic and indignant.

Yet unexpectedly, the one who was even more agitated than her wasn't Alajina, but rather the shocked-faced Isabel beside her.

This little Nali princess who resembled a small leopard slammed the table with a "smack" and stood up, shouting in disbelief:

"Married... this... this is impossible! Teacher Fischer couldn't absolutely possibly be married to you, he clearly..."

Everyone's gazes looked towards Isabel, and Alajina's expression was even more extreme. Her brain currently a mushy paste, she even thought that Isabel also wanted to interject into this battlefield of affection. However, evidently, Isabel didn't have an intimate relationship with Fischer; in her eyes, Fischer was merely her well-acquainted teacher and senior...

The true reason causing her to be agitated was her older sister, Elizabeth.

As Elizabeth's most doted-upon younger sister, Isabel naturally had known about her older sister's feelings for Fischer since very early on, and also knew about their mutually cherishing attitudes. After all, ever since Elizabeth and Fischer got to know each other, fell in love, and eventually temporarily separated yet remained secretly involved, she had always known that the connection between them hadn't completely severed. Their relationship was ambiguous, and even the Nali society knew Fischer belonged to Her Highness the Eldest Princess, hence no woman dared to make a move on him.

And now, you're telling Isabel that Fischer genuinely married another woman besides her older sister?

This was truly...

No, Teacher Fischer absolutely would not do this. Moreover, if her older sister were to learn of this matter, she feared...

Facing Isabel's words, Valentiina smiled slightly, just about to say something to reiterate this unquestionable fact. However, the mountain-like colossal Slime King sitting beside them spread his hands and chuckled, saying:

"I understand your doubts very much, after all, you guys were not here back then. But regrettably, the marriage contract between Mr. Fischer and Miss Valentiina is true. We six tribes followed the Moon Princess's posthumous edict; only when Fischer and Valentiina held the holy matrimony and had the reality of husband and wife could we hand the sigils over to them. The patriarchs of our six tribes can all attest to this point. Therefore, Captain Alajina, their marriage cannot be doubted."

Valentiina nodded, looking at the stunned Isabel. Just at this moment, Lord Tao's mocking voice suddenly transmitted into her ears:

"What are you nodding for, small-fry Phoenix? You were played by this Slime and are still smiling foolishly."

"Ah, but wasn't Patriarch Barion helping me attest to my marriage with Fischer...?"

Valentiina, startled by the sound of Tao in her mind, asked doubtfully like this.

Lord Tao sneered and said:

"A young small fry's thinking is truly simple... He was indeed helping you attest to your marriage with Fischer, but he also quietly informed them of the truth and reasons behind your marriage. They have complete reason to believe that Fischer was forced to marry you because of your ancestor's posthumous edict, rather than a marriage contracted from mutually cherishing affections..."

"!"

Only then did Valentiina realize this point. After all, she was still too young; before slumbering, no matter what, she had only just barely entered adulthood. How could she comprehend the profound meaning within the words of this Slime patriarch who had lived for over a millennium?

But even after realizing this point, she didn't voice it out. Instead, she cast a glance at that smiling Barion, her brain rapidly whirring into motion:

"So, Patriarch Barion wants to keep Captain Alajina's group here, therefore providing some leeway?"

"...To my surprise, you small-fry Phoenix ain't too stupid. What you said is correct, it must be because that mixed-blood descendant of a Giant Troll can provide items that interest them. Although things like affection influence many decisions, these are ultimately private matters between you, her, and that dead-ghost husband of yours. These small-fry Demi-human Races have no way of managing them, nor do they want to manage them. But obviously, they don't want your private matters affecting everyone's interests, even if you are their nominal leader and the Phoenix they ardently worship."

"..."

"Heheh, if your power was sufficiently strong, perhaps you wouldn't need them, and of course could do whatever you please... But as for right now, your Rank isn't high, chaos is very powerful, and my condition is still far from recovered; if we add on you standing isolated with meager strength, you'll inevitably be struggling to move forward."

"..."

Lord Tao's flat words taught the young Valentiina some things she had never studied before. One must know that the members in her previous team were few, and mostly had very good relations with her; but right now the organization under her command had a vaster and much more intricate structure. It was impossible for her to have relations as close as those previous team members with every existence and interest group within it; this inevitably destined that the method of managing it had to be completely different from before.

Valentiina didn't reply to Lord Tao in her mind. She merely lifted her eyes to look at Alajina not far away. Only a barely few seconds had passed in reality, thus Valentiina captured her change in expression.

Just as expected, her previously stiff expression akin to being struck by five bolts of lightning instantly brightened slightly, as if she had grasped onto some hope. She gripped the bandages wrapping her hand, looking earnestly at Valentiina, and said:

"Fischer married Miss Valentiina in order to enter the Sycamore Tree, correct?"

Barion patted his stomach, the expression on his face appearing somewhat distressed. He watched Valentiina out of the corner of his eye, seemingly feeling he couldn't let the Phoenix be too wronged either, thus preparing to add some words. Yet unexpectedly, Valentiina suddenly smiled and spoke up:

"That is indeed the case, Captain Alajina. Although I temporarily have no way to prove to you just how good the relationship between my husband and me is, but since the wedding has already been accomplished, please also respect my identity as Fischer's wife... Right, I also have to thank Captain Alajina. Just now, thanks to you taking action to save me... If it weren't for you, I'm afraid I would've fallen into the World Tree root and lost my life. Allow me to express the most sincere gratitude to you on behalf of the Sycamore Tree."

Valentiina merely emphasized her identity as the "wife" again, yet said absolutely nothing else, not even pursuing what happened before and after between Alajina and Fischer any further.

She seemed to have temporarily tossed this matter to the back of her mind. Following that, she smiled and walked forward, enthusiastically extending her hand towards Alajina.

Barion, sucking on his pacifier, cast a glance at Valentiina, then exchanged a look with Darivuvu beside him. Both smiled simultaneously and tacitly remained silent, resembling the most devout guards seated beneath the Phoenix.

Meanwhile, Alajina, looking at Valentiina's extended hand, appeared somewhat in a dilemma for a moment.

The Phoenix before her seemingly generously and magnanimously shelved the issue temporarily, returning to proper business, and even expressed gratitude for her help.

Alajina wouldn't even doubt that with such a layer of relationship, she and her sisters could definitely stay within the Frostwood Sycamore Tree, no longer needing to face the exhaustion from running around caused by Nari's pursuit...

But she would probably still feel miserable, because of Valentiina's posture as the "wife", that generous and magnanimous unconcern. It seemed she felt Alajina fundamentally couldn't shake her relationship with Fischer, unable to stir up any ripples at all, which was why she was so unconcerned...

And because Valentiina was the Phoenix commanding the Sycamore Tree, she was the master here, an existence capable of directing the destines of herself and her party of sisters; the disparity in status rendered her breathless as well...

She could probably completely continue to refute the Valentiina before her, venting out the resentment of her adored person being snatched away as if acting out of spite. But there were still so many people standing beside and behind her. As the captain, she had to consider them...

Beside her, Pakhz crossed her arms, looking at Valentiina's extended hand, grumbling in her heart that it would've been better to just let this Phoenix fall into the World Tree root back then. In any case, this kind of Phoenix who would snatch a man from her own captain was absolutely not the Phoenix they faithfully believed in from legends.

Meanwhile, Isabel beside her looked at the hesitating Alajina, seemingly also feeling her internal struggle. She cast a glance at Aoxi who had been keeping silent beside her. Just as she was about to say something, Alajina had already raised her hand, extending her other hand not wrapped in bandages, and gently grasped Valentiina's extended hand.

Looking expressionlessly at Valentiina before her, she said:

"...No need to thank me, Miss Valentiina."

"..."

Valentiina smiled slightly and didn't speak. Instead, Barion behind her clapped his hands, making "squelch, squelch" sounds.

"Good, Miss Alajina continues to be the honored guest of our Frostwood Sycamore Tree. In the name of the Slime Patriarch Barion, I guarantee that you will certainly not be subjected to enemy attacks in the future. I hope we can properly cooperate in the future, making the names of the Sycamore Tree and Phoenix resound throughout the Northern Border once again..."

As he spoke, he looked towards the Snow Fox-kin Patriarch Dar beside him:

"Dar, I'll have to trouble you to arrange a living place for our honored guests... Miss Valentiina has only just awakened, we still have some matters to report to her."

Dar was sitting on a newly added chair, but because the stature of the Snow Fox-kin was short and his appearance completely resembled a genuine fox, even getting down from the stool was a bit strenuous.

He turned around and climbed down from the chair. Then he cast a glance at Alajina who had let go of Valentiina's palm; a red and black scent continuously emanated from her body, causing Dar's movements to pause for a moment.

But he still bit the bullet, walked forward, and said to Alajina and the several people beside her:

"Captain Alajina, please come with me, I will take you to a place to rest."

Valentiina smiled slightly, spread her wings, and slowly flew to the front of that giant throne, her gaze landing on the Sword of the Phoenix King which no one could use, leaving only a back view for Alajina.

She took a deep look at Valentiina, yet had absolutely no other choice but to pack up some of the Cardinals placed on the table, after which the several of them followed Dar out of this council chamber.

"Her dad, this really pisses me off!"

Because of their large number, Dar arranged very many rooms for them, and the rooms were also extremely spacious. Fortunately, the Sycamore Tree was truly too massive; even after accommodating the remaining personnel of the Six Tribes, there was still an abundance of unused space. It was hard to imagine what kind of scene this place was like during its prime in the past.

The rest of the people all went to rest respectively. Alajina and Pakhz, who was holding several Cardinals, returned to her room. As soon as they entered, before the door was even closed, Pakhz cursed and threw the Cardinals in her hands onto the blanket beside her, looking extremely indignantly at the empty corridor behind them and cursing:

"That group of folks bullies people too much, going so far as snatching a man right to your face! Her dad, we even met that Valentiina back then. At that time she and Fischer didn't even know each other yet. The result was that once we separated and went to the Northern Border... fine, they hooked up so quickly, like dry wood meeting raging fire, dad, they're even married!"

Alajina sat on the soft bed, silently looking at her right hand wrapped in bandages; this was the frostbite caused by using the Ice Prince Sword just now to rescue Valentiina up.

"If you ask me, Alajina, that Fischer Benavides is fundamentally not a good man! He is an out-and-out Nari scum! Without a bit of affection, doing this kind of thing every day, does he deserve you? Treating him like this, you practically wanted to dig out your heart to give him. And look at him, a Phoenix over here, an Empress over there, what is he trying to do?! He fundamentally looks down on you, looks down on us!"

Alajina's bandage-wrapped hand trembled stiffly. After hesitating a moment, Alajina only said:

"...He... is not this kind of person. He must have had his difficulties for holding a wedding with Valentiina. I am willing to believe he was forced by circumstances with no other choice. You heard what that Slime said too; if they didn't hold a holy matrimony back then, they wouldn't be able to give him the sigil, and he would have no way to enter the Sycamore Tree and ultimately resolve the curse..."

"Ouch, thank goodness, he still has difficulties? He has his dad's difficulties?! He had difficulties all the way into that Phoenix's bed. From a perspective outside the Woman's Country, that Valentiina is so beautiful. You're telling me he had difficulties sleeping with her? I'm afraid his face is distorted from smiling so much... Alajina, do you even understand what 'reality of husband and wife' means?!"

"...I also have the reality of husband and wife with him. I believe he won't let me down."

"..."

Pakhz's expression was pained, her face turning red from holding it in as if suffocating.

Her own captain was truly good in every aspect, it's just that emotionally she was way too pure and blank... and also too stubborn and obstinate.

That was why when she and Fischer got to know each other back in Saint-Nazareth, the crew members worried she'd be deceived by a bad man, lest when the time came her money would be gone, her feelings would be gone, and there would be a few more hats on her head.

Good heavens, now a casual remark completely became a prophecy. Her own captain was about to be deceived into numbness by that man.

Although from the traditional perspective of the Woman's Country, she had already tasted this piece of meat called Fischer and naturally couldn't be considered to have suffered a loss. However, Alajina ultimately treated romance seriously. To her, this kind of thing wasn't fundamentally about profiting or not, but rather proof of their affection...

Fine, up to now she was simply infatuated beyond reason by that Nari man. The mistress was riding on her face and she was still considering him. Wait till the fourth, fifth, and sixth mistresses pop out...

My heavenly mother, what should be done about this!?

"Alajina, I'm begging you to wake up a bit, alright? I..."

Pakhz looked back at the open door, then stepped forward to close and lock it, before turning her head back and continuing:

"I'm being serious. If it weren't for that Fischer, we fundamentally wouldn't have fallen into this situation today. Originally we were living perfectly happily on the sea. Although our days weren't comfortable, at least they were better than now, right? He brought Isabel onto the ship—she's Elizabeth's darling—tossing her to us like a hot potato. Look at him, gallivanting around the world, making us run ragged pursued by Naris all across the world. Now we still have to come to the Sycamore Tree to suffer this bird's anger. I truly, her dad..."

Alajina merely looked up at Pakhz, then softly said:

"What about Old Jack then? If Fischer didn't bring him onto the ship, you wouldn't have met the person worth entrusting your life to either, right?"

Pakhz opened her mouth, her expression lagging slightly, her words shivering as well:

"This..."

"Pakhz, you should know the logic that a fired arrow has no turning back better than I do. If there's really regret, really self-blame, these should also be my problems. Blame me for recklessly killing that woman (her mother) back then, taking you all far away from our homeland; blame me for making Fischer's acquaintance, keeping Isabel on the ship, getting Nari to pursue us, our allies to betray us..."

"...Captain, the matters of the past cannot be blamed on you."

"Perhaps that's indeed true, but Pakhz... people have feelings. My feelings towards you guys, towards Isabel who has now become one of us, towards Fischer—it's all like this. If it weren't for you guys, I perhaps wouldn't even have had the courage to resist that woman and escape my sorrowful destiny; without Fischer, I wouldn't have had a goal worth rushing towards, you wouldn't have met Old Jack, and we wouldn't have had a reliable companion like Isabel..."

"I'm just worried, Alajina. You are full of affection for him, yet he might be selfish enough to be unwilling to give you even the slightest bit of reciprocated affection. This is simply like gambling, using the happiness of the rest of your life to bet. This is what I'm worried about."

"Then let me bet, just this once. I'm already at the gambling table, am I not?"

"...Ouch, my heavenly mother, I... I can't say anything anymore."

Pakhz sighed, then stood up, pacing around the room with her hands behind her back for several rounds, before finally saying in a give-up-on-oneself manner:

"Alright, alright. Just don't let me catch that man. If I catch him, I definitely must..."

"Mm, go rest, Pakhz..."

Pakhz cast a glance at Alajina sitting on the bed not speaking anymore, and lastly sighed heavily once again, unlocked the door, pushed it open, and walked out.

"Creak..."

The door slowly closed, leaving the silence within the room to Alajina again. She remained expressionless; only after a moment's silence did she reach her bandage-wrapped hand into her crude robe, taking out a folded paper airplane.

Written on it was: "My Queen".

"..."

She was silent without saying a word. Only until she had looked at that paper airplane for a very long time did she slowly tuck it back into her bosom.

Then, as if she truly had nothing to do, she slowly dragged her somewhat heavy body at this moment and stood up.

She perhaps was indeed not strong enough, not excellent enough. Compared to searching for Fischer and seeking the problems of destiny, Alajina honestly preferred placing the problems on herself.

However, even knowing she wasn't strong enough, knowing she was a head shorter before Empress Elizabeth, Renee, and Valentiina, so what?

Could she strengthen her forces? Could she become stronger than Naris which was at its zenith today, stronger than the Frostwood Sycamore Tree where they were hiding right now? Yet she was a loner; aside from a group of trustworthy sisters who depended on each other for survival, she had nothing else.

Then could she increase her Rank and abilities? But Ranks were innately fixed from birth. Even if she had Giant Troll mixed blood and could be stronger than most commoners, what could she do facing Phoenixes and Giant Trolls?

For these four and a half years, aside from being exhausted from running around in the later stages, she was constantly trying every single moment previously.

Establishing her own stronghold and forces in Pirate Port, finding various relics and precious items; yet all these efforts were utterly torched in Chief Black's betrayal.

Without a background, could she actually not achieve anything relying solely on her own efforts?

Perhaps she had already done better than the masses, even far better. But when looking upwards, she had to face a heavenly chasm that was exceptionally difficult to scale any further...

She silently grouped up the Cardinals in the room that had just been thrown down by Pakhz in a fit of extreme anger. These were all found by Isabel in the Stormsea; she was very good at finding things, and Chief Black's Cardinals back then were all found with her help.

But the truly precious ones that were perfectly intact she hadn't given out. Instead, they were placed on the Iceberg Queen Ship, and had been continuously carried with them here.

Alajina judged that the value of these seemingly intact Cardinals was absolutely precious. Not merely in terms of money, but in many other aspects. Therefore, even when the Iceberg Queen Ship sank, she didn't abandon these dozens of machines retrieved from the Stormsea.

It's just that, having researched them for so long, they still hadn't discovered exactly what use these things had. They remained consistently like glowing pieces of scrap metal.

Just now she showed them to the other people inside the Sycamore Tree, and they couldn't make heads or tails of it either...

So, are all these things scraps?

Borrowing the action of tidying things, Alajina pondered while alleviating the bitterness in her heart. Although her face was expressionless, it appeared so fragile and helpless.

"Crack, crack..."

"Bzzz, bzzz, bzzz..."

But exactly while organizing these Cardinals, Alajina suddenly noticed that one among the Cardinals roughly thrown onto the floor by Pakhz just now began to unnaturally flash an intermittent light, simultaneously emitting faint sounds.

This Cardinal, is it making some sound?

"Bzzz, bzzz..."

"...Valid location reached. The warp escape plan can be executed. Initiate?"

"What... is this?"

"Unfamiliar language monitored. Translation function initiated..."

That spherical object, like a small ball, slowly levitated up, as if that toss by Pakhz had cleared its meridians; the light upon its body also became increasingly smooth and brighter...

"Bzzz, bzzz, bzzz. Respected Holy Progeny, we have reached a valid location. The warp instrument currently passes self-check normally. The warp escape plan can be executed. Initiate?"

"Where... is the destination of the warp?"

Alajina dazedly watched the small ball emitting dazzling light before her eyes, truly unable to imagine what kind of existence could make such a miraculous instrument...

Holy Progeny? Was it talking about her? Or some other existence it mistook her for?

"Confirmed warp destination: Spirit World, Shelter."

"Spirit World?"

"Yes."

"You... you can talk?"

"The butler exclusively for Sanctuary's Angel Youfeile, Little David Qin Shi Huang Youfeile Limited Edition, wholeheartedly at your service. You can call me Little David."

"Qin Shi Huang? Youfeile?"

"Yes, those are the names of my two creators. These are the names written into my program; temporarily there is no permission to change them~"

Alajina was completely awestruck by this miraculous Cardinal before her eyes. But roughly sounding, that Spirit World should be a very, very distant place. She couldn't help but ask:

"Then if I go... can I still come back?"

"Of course you can. With ample energy, it's estimated it can still be used thirty-two thousand times."

"What is that Shelter? What's inside?"

"Please allow me to explain for you. The so-called Shelter is an emergency facility established in the Spirit World prior to the war by Lord Chain of Heaven presiding over the Archangels. It contains a complete Holy Progeny forging system, the collections of the Holy Progeny, and a place of refuge. Please permit me to connect to other Davids within the Shelter to display specific images for you... Huh, connection failed. This is truly strange..."

"Wait, what exactly is this Holy Progeny you speak of?"

"Holy Progeny? Oh, you don't even know this?"

Little David shook its head, then flew right before Alajina:

"Holy Progeny are the Angels, and also one of the only three existing Mythical Species in the world..."

Alajina dazedly looked at the machine before her eyes. After a moment of silence, she suddenly asked:

"Stronger than a Phoenix?"

"Hahahahaha... Sorry, please forgive my fake laugh, I haven't completely comprehended the humor of intelligent beings. I can only answer your question directly: Yes, the Holy Progeny are who-knows-how-many-times stronger than the Phoenix Species."

Little David spun around in midair, then laughed using an entirely emotionless tone. Only after laughing for quite a while did it continue to resolve Alajina's doubts.

The words of the Cardinal before her were straightforward, but the content of those words struck a certain place within Alajina's heart.

She suddenly developed a yearning for a certain thing, and that was power capable of surpassing the ordinary.

Angels...

"What's inside that Shelter you spoke of?"

"What is there? Hmm... All sorts of holy artifacts far stronger than this piece of equipment on your body? The collections of the Holy Progeny? Also various models of Davids that are different from me? Hmm, with good luck, you should even be able to encounter the Holy Progeny... But the strange thing is, I have no way to connect to the public server, nor are there any records of the warp ever being used. Sending signals to the Shelter receives no response either. Truly weird..."

Alajina pondered for a moment, her gaze faintly looking at this levitating Cardinal before her eyes, her inner thoughts and contemplations unknown.

Chapter 567: Shelter in the Spirit World

Inside the council chamber of the Frostwood Sycamore Tree, as Alajina's group exited the room, the space within was left with only Valentiina and several leaders of the six clans, excluding Clan Chief Dar.

Valentiina quietly looked at the Phoenix King Sword lying on the massive throne before her. She felt as if it were subtly calling out to her. Unable to control herself, she reached out, wanting to grasp the sword's hilt.

Unlike the Moon Princess dagger and the Ice Prince Sword, which was a rapier, the Phoenix King Sword had a much more formal shape. From its appearance, it looked more like a ceremonial sword. However, the intense cold constantly radiating from it could easily dispel such a ridiculous notion.

"That Alajina is clearly displeased with our Lord Phoenix. For a woman from the Sardin Woman's Country, this is tantamount to the hatred of having her husband stolen. I'm afraid this won't end peacefully. Today, she might endure it because she needs our help, but on the day she gains the power, do you think she can tolerate it for a lifetime? Moreover, Lord Phoenix's husband is still..."

Hamlia, the leader of the Cangniao-kin, had always been displeased with Alajina. The moment the other party walked out of the room, she seemed impatient as she said this to Valentiina. At the same time, her gaze discreetly shifted to the massive Slime, Barion, sitting behind her, dissatisfied with how he had subtly spoken up for Alajina earlier.

Barion couldn't be bothered to respond to her. Darivuvu also coughed and hurriedly looked at Valentiina's back, interrupting the words Hamlia was about to utter.

"Cough, cough... Miss Valentiina, I am very glad to see you again. Earlier, when Sister Ilos came over, we were still thinking of visiting you later. I didn't expect you to come up yourself..."

Hearing Darivuvu's words behind her, Valentiina's movement to grasp the hilt of the Phoenix King Sword paused slightly. She turned to face the leaders of the six clans, only to find that their expressions varied.

Although Darivuvu was a Giant Troll-kin, she was actually quite meticulous. Perhaps she had already known that Valentiina's husband's whereabouts and survival were currently unknown. Therefore, when Valentiina entered and questioned Alajina as a wife, demanding her to corroborate, her response had seemed somewhat hesitant.

It seemed she was afraid that this matter would deal a heavy blow to the newly awakened Phoenix, prompting her to cast aside the Frostwood Sycamore Tree and the six clans to recklessly search for Fisher. This was something the six clans absolutely didn't want to see. Yet, she hadn't expected the several people beside her to speak increasingly outrageously, as if they completely disregarded this matter.

Forget about Hamlia; everyone knew she was missing a screw in her head. But what about Barion? Darivuvu didn't understand. Was he simply too old, causing his brain to deteriorate?

One must know that for several millennia since the fall of the Phoenixes until now, their six clans had strictly adhered to their loyalty and honor toward the Phoenixes. They had always hoped that one day, they would return and lead the six clans back to the Northern Border. This was also why, four and a half years ago, they had contributed their sigils to help Fisher, Valentiina, and their group.

Over these four and a half years, while gathering the remaining bloodlines of the six clans that had been struggling on the verge of death throughout the years toward the Frostwood Sycamore Tree, they were also worrying—worrying that this sole remaining Phoenix would evade the responsibilities that belonged to her.

After all, strictly speaking, all the leaders of the six clans knew that Valentiina had previously been a human. Her bloodline had merely been elevated now, which didn't mean she was no longer "Valentiina" as a person.

She lacked the guidance of a Phoenix and had lived in the Turan Family, a place that ate people without spitting out the bones. She was also a Phoenix born after the fact...

What if she came to the Frostwood Sycamore Tree only to cure her legs, and at most, to help the six clans expel the curse?

What if she didn't care at all about the restoration of the Frostwood Sycamore Tree's nation and only thought of running out of the Northern Border to other places far away from the Turan Family?

If so, then the hopes of the six clans over all these years and their help toward her would have all been completely wasted...

However, seeing Darivuvu hesitating to speak, and Hamlia also realizing after the fact that she seemed to have spoken the wrong words, Valentiina smiled helplessly and said,

"Everyone, there's no need to worry that I will abandon the Frostwood Sycamore Tree. Although I became a Phoenix later on, I have, after all, met the Moon Princess and received her teachings. It is also thanks to the sacrifices of your ancestors that I have today... I am a Phoenix. From now on, the Frostwood Sycamore Tree is my home, and you are all friends who have made a pact with me."

"...My apologies, Miss Valentiina, but we simply had to confirm this matter. After all, that woman... I mean Heidelin. Miss Valentiina, please don't take offense; we say what we have to say. To be honest, she has had some opinions about us over the years. She might think that, just like the Turan Family, we are actually only using you to achieve our own goals. Rather than staying in the Frostwood Sycamore Tree to lead us back to our past life, she hopes you can find your own life and freedom."

Darivuvu curled her lips. Looking at Clan Chief Dar of the Snow Fox-kin walking back from outside the door, she said,

"For this, Kokolia has argued with her more than once. Now, she even asked Sister Ilos to tell you about Mr. Fisher's disappearance as soon as you woke up. We are truly very worried that you might make the wrong choice and leave the Frostwood Sycamore Tree.

"Miss Valentiina, you have slept for a long time and don't know the current state of the world. Now, Naris is at the height of its power, and its influence is spread like tentacles across various nations and continents, with the Northern Border being no exception. In a place like the Northern Border, where faith is deeply rooted, an awakened Phoenix is an unbearable thorn in the side for them and the Turan Family, not to mention that you once had a grudge against the Turan Family...

"The ancestors of everyone sitting here once swore loyalty to your ancestors. Today, we have not forgotten this oath either. In the future, we will also become your most loyal subordinates, acting as your hands and eyes, doing our part to recreate the glory of the Frostwood Sycamore Tree. Of course, whatever requests Miss Valentiina has, we will try our best to fulfill. From four and a half years ago until now, we have made quite a lot of plans against the Turan Family. Barion's Slimes have also never given up searching for the missing Mr. Fisher..."

Valentiina nodded and spoke softly,

"I apologize to everyone on Heidelin's behalf. We have depended on each other since childhood within the Turan Family, and only we know the bitterness and sweetness of it. She means no harm; she is just worried that I will fall into a second devil's den like the Turan Family... Regarding this, everyone does not need to worry. I have my own convictions and will not easily change because of others. I also will not become utterly disheartened because of my husband's disappearance. I have always believed that he is still alive. He is very powerful and won't be defeated so easily. Therefore, please, Clan Chief Barion, continue to pay close attention and search for his whereabouts at all costs while I stay in the Frostwood Sycamore Tree."

Barion pinched his pacifier and gave a faint nod, indicating his agreement.

Hearing Valentiina's certain answer, the expressions on the faces of the several clan chiefs present finally relaxed. Their original misgivings were also completely dispelled. After all, they had spent too little time with this former eldest miss of the Turan Family and didn't know her true personality.

But now, from this short period of time, it seemed that the young girl standing before the massive throne already heavily bore the legacy of the ancient Phoenixes.

"Alright, next, Clan Chief Darivuvu, I want to know the current situation—of the Frostwood Sycamore Tree, the Turan Family, the Northern Border, and the Naris you mentioned earlier."

Next, Darivuvu briefly explained the current situation of the Frostwood Sycamore Tree to Valentiina.

Today, the Frostwood Sycamore Tree had four hundred and sixty-seven pureblood Giant Troll-kin, three hundred and twenty Slime-kin both inside and out, five hundred and eighty Cangniao-kin, seven hundred Snow Fox-kin, six hundred and twelve Cloud Cat-kin, one Moon Rabbit-kin, and one human, totaling two thousand six hundred and eighty-nine.

This number was actually within Valentiina's expectations; it was neither too many nor too few. Moreover, according to what Darivuvu said, the attitudes of the various nations of the Northern Border, excluding the Sardin Woman's Country and the Turan Family, toward the Frostwood Sycamore Tree were all very ambiguous.

After all, aside from those two powers, the rest of the small nations were either poor or suffering. Obviously, being sandwiched between the Turan Family and the Sardin Woman's Country wasn't a good life. The Northern Border was a small place, and natural resources like the climate were almost entirely grasped by the two major powers. The small nations had long been dissatisfied with this. The slightly larger ones remained neutral, their stance not very firm.

However, the Frostwood Sycamore Tree had a natural advantage over the various nations of the Northern Border, which was that most of the residents of the Northern Border believed in the Frost Phoenix.

And the fact that the Frostwood Sycamore Tree actually had a Phoenix was completely unexpected by all nations.

Even for the Sardin Woman's Country, previously believing in the Frost Phoenix had a hundred benefits and no harm. First was the tradition of cultural history, which was very difficult to change. Secondly, everyone believed in the same thing and had a common goal; for a feudal nation like the Sardin Woman's Country, this was also conducive to unification and could strengthen the connections between the various states. Why not do it?

Who could have thought that after believing in it for several millennia without a single Phoenix popping out, in recent years, one actually popped out of a rock with a "bang"?

The impact of this on the Northern Border was no less catastrophic than announcing the resurrection of the Mother Goddess in the West Continent.

Therefore, for the Frostwood Sycamore Tree, the various nations of the Northern Border were not all enemies; there was a large number of forces that could be won over and drawn in. Perhaps the only one they truly needed to face right now was just one Turan Family.

And speaking of the Turan Family, they naturally had to mention the colossus currently standing behind them—Naris.

"These years, the Turan Family has constantly been cooperating with Naris of the West Continent. Not only them, but the Black Chieftain of the Stormsea, the Green Dragon Court of the Southern Continent, and the numerous small nations in the east of the West Continent now all have more or less close ties with Naris. They have mastered a war machine called the 'Cardinal', which is much more powerful than all the ones the Turan Family previously had. I heard the technology came from the Stormsea. Over the years, they have put a lot of effort into magic and Cardinals, and their level of warfare has advanced by leaps and bounds. Even the Red Dragon Court of the Southern Continent has been beaten into suffering continuous defeats and is now clinging to a corner..."

"The Red Dragon Court..."

Valentiina chewed over this term from Darivuvu's mouth. It was as if intuition made her latch onto this special term, making her pay special attention to it.

At the same time, the surprised voice of Lord Tao came to her ears once again,

"Hm? I didn't expect the Dragon Court to actually still exist. Could it be because of Fafnir's protection... I have to say, fate loves to toy with people. The orthodox Mythical Species have all perished, but instead, that group of mixed-blood defective products have survived until now..."

But before Valentiina had time to reply to Lord Tao's words in her mind, Barion, who had been sitting in the back without saying a word, suddenly spoke up,

"Valentiina, Naris absolutely cannot be underestimated. It's not because of their strong ships and formidable cannons now, but rather... the feeling this nation gives me is very... strange."

"Strange... what do you mean by that, Clan Chief Barion?"

"The Slimes under me have infiltrated many forces pervasively—the Sardin Woman's Country, the Turan Family... Previously, we could also enter Naris, but not in recent years. Many of my clansmen within Naris have died violent deaths. Of course, outwardly, they still passed away under their original disguised identities—drug overdose, sudden death during sex, cardiac arrest... And the battlefield of the Southern Continent is even more dangerous. My clansmen simply disappear without a trace. They are probably no longer alive now."

Barion cracked his knuckles and continued explaining the situation on the Southern Continent to Valentiina,

"Ever since Naris formed the Human Allied Army with the Green Dragon Court puppet regime to attack the Red Dragon Court, I have planted clansmen within all the various factions. However, the clansmen in the Green Dragon Court and the Naris army disappeared the fastest, and the clansmen in the Red Dragon Court also died in the war; this is what I can confirm. Thus, there is a high probability that there is something within Naris that can discover the hidden items or living beings of my clansmen, resulting in us currently knowing absolutely nothing about the situation in the Southern Continent and Naris."

"Could it be that because of the Cardinals you just mentioned, the Slimes' disguises were discovered by them?"

Valentiina stroked her chin and expressed her suspicion.

"It's possible, but we still can't be sure either. We have the Turan Family's Cardinals in our hands, but according to intelligence, their Cardinals and the Cardinals used by Naris seem to be two different things. Naris's Cardinals come from the Stormsea, which is exactly where that captain from the Sardin Woman's Country came from. And conveniently, they have brought us some precious Cardinal samples. Furthermore, her team also has Elizabeth's biological younger sister in it. She might be a very important card for us...

"And the most important thing is to crack the mystery of Naris's Cardinals. We cannot limit ourselves to just the Turan Family we are facing right now. I have a premonition that Naris will definitely become extremely terrifying in the future. And the things brought by that captain of the Sardin Woman's Country definitely contain contents that are extremely valuable to me..."

Valentiina pondered for a moment, falling deep into thought as she listened to Barion's words. But at least, she already had a preliminary understanding of the current situation.

She also began to gradually realize what kind of difficult problem she was currently facing.

The terrifying intrusion of Chaos, Fisher's disappearance, the mysterious rise of Naris, the flames of war in the Southern Continent...

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then, when she opened them again, only decisiveness remained in her eyes.

"I understand..."

Valentiina spoke softly. Then, she slowly reached out her hand and grasped the hilt of the Phoenix King Sword, which was lying on the throne quietly watching her. The instant her fingers made contact with it, an obscure sensation instantly pierced through her skin and crashed into her soul, causing even the azure down on her body to begin radiating light.

"Buzz, buzz, buzz..."

The joyful hum of the sword reminded Valentiina that this sword had been easily mastered by her.

She was the last pureblood Phoenix, and only a Phoenix.

"Right, Miss Valentiina, there is one matter I don't know if I should mention..."

Just as Valentiina picked up the Phoenix King Sword to examine it, Clan Chief Barion of the Slime-kin behind her suddenly spoke again.

"What is it?"

Valentiina turned her head and looked at Barion, who was pinching his pacifier and seemed somewhat hesitant to speak. But she heard him continue,

"Although my clansmen on the Southern Continent have all mysteriously disappeared in recent years, in reality, we aren't completely without eyes, ears, and information. It was just a short while ago. I suddenly received a bit of... well, not very certain news. It's about Mr. Fisher."

"News about... Fisher? What news?"

Valentiina was slightly startled, and she immediately pressed for an answer, wanting to know. Even a small Peach Blossom bud quietly peeked out from the back of her head, seemingly possessing a certain degree of interest in this news as well.

Barion hesitated for a moment. Then, he took the pacifier out of his mouth and asked Valentiina in return,

"Miss Valentiina, I wonder if you have heard of a merchant named... Keken from the Petric Family in Naris?"

"Keken? I... haven't heard of him at all."

"Hm... he is a graduate of the Royal Academy in Naris, considered an alumnus and junior to Mr. Fisher. Coincidentally, he has experience doing business in the Southern Continent from very early on. Also coincidentally, he evaded the Dragon Queen's northern expedition and returned to Saint-Nazareth; and coincidentally again, he is recently outwardly doing business and trading within the Green Dragon Court. Of course, he also has a bit of... business dealings with us.

"He said that he obtained a trace of someone suspected to be Mr. Fisher, right within the Green Dragon Court of the Southern Continent."

Inside Alajina's room, the door was currently closed. Alajina, while inspecting the equipment and items at hand, asked the small sphere floating beside her,

"Little David, are you... sure that if I encounter anything amiss after going over, you can instantly teleport me back?"

"Of course, esteemed Holy Progeny."

"I'm not some... Holy Progeny."

"Oh, that's fine. This is just the default form of address set for me by my creator. You can change it at any time, or you can use other default forms of address, such as Perverted Demi-Human Girl Lover, Little Darling, and My Dear..."

"Just call me Alajina. That is my name."

"Okay, Alajina."

Alajina took a deep breath. She then took another look at the only remaining Cardinal around her. This was the only bargaining chip she had right now while living under someone else's roof.

If she wanted to become stronger, then she had to take risks.

She also didn't know if her choice to trust a Cardinal that had only just awakened was right. But being betrayed by allies, hunted by Naris, and crushed by the person who stole her husband... all of these made Alajina, who originally had a laid-back personality, feel obvious discomfort for the first time.

She didn't resent Valentiina; she was even grateful that this Phoenix was taking them in at this moment.

She had merely been bitterly waiting for a method, and it wasn't her first time experiencing the miraculousness of the Cardinals from the Stormsea. Furthermore, a Cardinal like Little David, who could speak and take her to a mysterious location, was something she had never even heard of. Perhaps even Naris didn't have such a precious thing...

She had to seize this opportunity!

Thus, in the next moment, Alajina said,

"...Teleport, Little David."

"Okay, initiating teleportation. Protective measures have already been added to your body to ensure adaptation to the environment of the Shelter within the Spirit World. Linking with the Shelter... Link failed. Initiating direct teleportation."

"Buzz, buzz, buzz!"

In the next second, the small sphere before her instantly erupted with light like a sun. The dazzling light easily enveloped her, turning her into a streak of light as well. In an extremely unimaginable manner, she instantly entered the Crevice.

"Haha..."

Alajina panted heavily. Enveloped by spiritual light, she tasted the feeling of weightlessness. The moment she entered the Crevice, she brushed past various kinds of resplendent subconscious minds as she continued to charge upward, heading toward the outer side and the deep layers of the world.

She couldn't examine the surrounding environment at all; she could only let the light carry her through, breaking through some sort of barrier, until she entered a magnificently brilliant place.

The next moment, the environment before her instantly became concrete, and she appeared out of thin air in a certain place...

An extremely empty, extremely silent, and extremely dark place.

"We have arrived, Alajina. Please rate Little David's service this time!"

"Wait, this is the Shelter of the Angels?"

The surroundings were completely dark and deathly still. Alajina wasn't missing; she was just relying on the light emitted by Little David beside her to examine the surroundings. But because the surroundings were too large and too dark, the light that had seemed extremely bright just a moment ago became so fragile here, only able to provide illumination for a small patch around her body.

"Thud, thud, thud."

Alajina stepped on some sort of sculpted stone bricks. Exquisite patterns were engraved on them, a kind that Alajina had never seen before... No, she seemed to have seen this kind of pattern before, right?

Right in the Stormsea?

"Right, huh, strange, why is it so dark and quiet here? According to my private database, this should be the Mooring Port of the Shelter, the place where the Holy Progenies are transferred to... Hm, let me scan the surroundings. Don't worry, Alajina."

Little David spun his spherical body in confusion, emitting faint rays of light outward. Soon, everything before them was deconstructed. They were wrapped in a fluorescent glow from the darkness, thereby revealing the outlines of various items.

The place was messy and chaotic, with various items scattered about, yet there wasn't a single corpse. The surroundings were all sealed tight by stone bricks, except for the fragments of the ceiling that had fallen all over the floor. From the gaps in the shattered ceiling, streaks of peculiar light, seemingly like starlight, poured down from above, attracting Alajina's attention.

She looked up, planning to see the scene outside the ceiling, or rather, the scenery of the Spirit World. However, the instant she looked up, just as she saw a faint smear of scarlet mist, a mechanical voice devoid of emotion yet slightly shrill suddenly boomed behind her, interrupting her next action.

"A friendly reminder from David: If you do not wish to die, please do not look up at the scene outside the Shelter."

"...David?"

Alajina was slightly startled. She quickly stopped what she was doing, turned her head, and looked very warily in the direction of the voice.

Right there in the darkness, borrowing the starlight leaking from the hole in the ceiling along with Little David's light, Alajina vaguely saw a human figure floating in midair. Bright blue light flickered on the shadow, completely no different from the light on Little David beside her.

Under Alajina's somewhat nervous and wary gaze, the floating shadow slowly became clear in the darkness ahead.

It turned out to be an existence that didn't look too tall, having the appearance of a young man. He had long, curly red hair, and his face was handsome, like a rare work of art in the world, making it difficult to distinguish whether he was male or female. Or perhaps, such an existence shouldn't have had a gender in the first place?

But what truly attracted Alajina's attention were the tattered or missing parts on his body. Beneath his ceramic-like cracked and fissured skin, what was exposed were complex and perfectly ordered parts and circuitry...

This forced Alajina to accept a reality: The existence before her was essentially a Cardinal, not a living, breathing creature.

"Yes, this is the name my mom and dad gave me, David... What about you, guest? What name did your mom and dad give you?"

The "Cardinal" before her spoke with a mechanical synthetic voice. As he spoke, blue sparks continuously flickered within him, indicating that he had long been out of repair and his condition had become extremely precarious.

Yet even so, like a miracle that originally shouldn't exist in the world, he displayed the legend of a certain civilization to Alajina.

Chapter 568: Mother Goddess Bless Us

Within the Shelter of the Spirit World, relying on the faint light emitted by Little David beside her and a bit of starlight leaking from the gap in the ceiling, Alajina carefully examined this highly unique "Cardinal" before her.

Because the starlight was very dim, she wasn't sure if it was caused by the scarlet mist lingering around the gap in the Shelter that she had glimpsed from the corner of her eye a moment ago. She didn't dare to look in that direction again because of the warning given by this strange Cardinal just now.

Alajina was completely unfamiliar with this place. Naturally, she wouldn't court death by ignoring the advice and engaging in dangerous behavior.

Facing the Cardinal's question, Alajina hesitated for a moment before saying,

"I am Alajina."

"Ah, Alajina, what a nice name..."

The red-haired young man before her slowly floated to a spot not far in front of Alajina. Although his words sounded mechanical and monotonous, a warm smile hung on his face.

Such a smile unwittingly dissolved a bit of Alajina's wariness. She couldn't help but look at Little David floating beside her and ask,

"Your names are the same."

"Ah, because the general manufacturing technology came from my mom and dad. They liked me very much, so even though they had other units and corresponding independent consciousnesses later on, they still used my name to name the other units. However, I am the first unit created by mom and dad, and I've never seen the independent unit beside you... This is truly strange."

David slowly turned his head to look at Little David, his facial expression revealing obvious confusion. Alajina also couldn't help but press for more information,

"Are your mom and dad... Angels?"

"No, David's dad is a Holy Progeny, while his mom is a Transferred Person. But strictly speaking, it sounds a bit strange because dad has no clear gender, and mom is a male. Alajina only needs to know that they are very important existences to David. But I haven't seen them for a very, very long time... Right, does Alajina want to visit my home as a guest? It's right inside the Shelter."

"Transferred Person... What is that?"

"Oh, um, that's what the Holy Progenies call mom, but David doesn't know what it means either."

"..."

When mentioning "mom and dad," David's flawlessly handsome, androgynous face revealed extremely obvious sorrow. But soon, he put on a bright and sunny smile again, pointed to the pitch-black space behind him, and invited Alajina.

Alajina glanced at Little David, who had suddenly fallen silent beside her. It seemed that he was also extremely wary of this suddenly appearing "senior" or "mother unit." She hesitated for a moment, not knowing if she should advance with this strange Cardinal.

But there was nothing around her here, and she hadn't forgotten what she came here for...

"Are you the only one here?"

"One? Oh, if Alajina means David... Yes, David is the only 'one' here."

"What about those Holy Progenies? Shouldn't this be their Shelter?"

"...I don't quite remember what exactly happened. The storage module inside my unit seems to have suffered damage. I only remember a very small portion of things from a very, very long time ago. I remember that the Angel Youfeile was responsible for building the Shelter at that time. But I forgot why I am here and where exactly the other Holy Progenies went. I have no way to leave here to find them, so I can only stay here in standby mode, waiting for them to return."

David's tone was innocent, but to Alajina's ears, it sounded extremely pitiful, like a child who had lost his parents but forced a smile. This couldn't help but evoke a bit of compassion in her.

And Little David, who had originally been silent beside them, suddenly spoke up excitedly after hearing the name "Youfeile" from David's mouth,

"My Creator! So she was the one who built this place!"

David smiled and nodded. He turned his head and looked expectantly at Alajina beside him, asking her again,

"How about it, Alajina? Want to go take a look at my home?"

"...Alright, lead the way."

"Great! Over the years, David has always decorated the home quite nicely. I also checked when I just woke up, and there shouldn't be too many things damaged... Please follow me!"

"Okay."

Alajina hesitated for a moment before finally deciding to follow the Cardinal before her deep into the so-called "Shelter" to find out the truth. Having him as a guide to lead the way was much better than wandering around blindly by herself.

She always felt that this place was very dangerous. Perhaps the danger wasn't within the Shelter, but... outside the Shelter?

David turned around, jumping for joy, exposing more of the damaged parts beneath the white robe on his back to Alajina. But without noticing it at all, he flew into the darkness, gesturing for Alajina to keep up.

As Alajina left following David, she didn't realize that the starlight seeping in from the damaged ceiling in this place suddenly dimmed. Even the terrifying scarlet mist twisted and surged outward...

In its place was a remarkably cold, water-like moonlight, a blend of deep purple and silver-white.

The surroundings of the deep and serene corridor were completely undamaged. David, who was leading the way in front, suddenly spoke up to warm the atmosphere,

"Right, Alajina, David forgot to ask you. What are you here for? Because I feel like it's been a very, very, very long time since any living creature has come here."

"I..."

What should Alajina say? Tell him that she actually wanted to come here secretly to take some things away, but ended up being discovered by him?

"She wants to see if there's anything of value here that can be of use. If possible, she wants to take some good things back to Reality."

But Little David beside her wasn't polite at all, stating her purpose for her in advance.

At this point, Alajina had no choice but to explain it herself,

"I need some weapons for self-defense or Relics that can make me stronger. This is very important to me. Otherwise, my husband is very likely to be snatched away by other women."

"Ah... I see. There are still many treasures left behind by the Holy Progenies and mom and dad here. They've been sitting here for a long time. I'll take you to see them later, and you can take all of them away."

To Alajina's surprise, David was incredibly easy to talk to. Upon hearing her purpose, he turned his head and said with a smile, almost without thinking.

"Huh?"

Not only was Alajina stunned, but Little David beside her also spun in circles excitedly,

"Mother Goddess bless us! This is truly wonderful, Alajina. But I forgot to tell you before coming here that my teleportation has a capacity limit. You cannot carry too many or too large items to teleport with you, otherwise an accident is very likely to occur... Mother Goddess above, Little David must take safety as the top priority."

In reality, they didn't walk for long before reaching the end of the dark corridor. Opposite the many doors at the end, David familiarly opened a large door that wasn't completely closed, revealing the spacious area inside.

"We have arrived, Alajina."

Looking inside, it looked like a workshop in a factory or a laboratory in a research institute. Within the spacious area were many machine tools used for manufacturing certain items, various chairs covered in machinery, protection cabins connected by lines of some sort, and a room full of blueprints.

Alajina originally thought there would be ventilation or windows to look outside, but it was still sealed tight by stone bricks here. This couldn't help but remind Alajina of David's earlier words about "not looking outside."

But she didn't press the matter. She just watched David smile and sit on a chair. Then, looking around the room full of mechanical parts, he couldn't help but say apologetically,

"Sorry, Alajina, there's nothing here. David temporarily has no way to entertain you."

Alajina shook her head and replied,

"Mother Goddess above, I am already very grateful that you could invite me over."

David smiled brightly. Somewhat awkwardly and shyly, he tugged at the long white robe on his body, revealing some ceramic crack-like marks on his fair thighs, and then said,

"Thank you, Alajina. David is very happy to hear what you said. Can I be your friend? Mom and dad would definitely be very happy if they knew... Of course, it's okay if you're unwilling; David won't mind."

Even as he said this, David's expression suddenly became nervous, as if the energy supply section within his chest cavity would stop working if Alajina spoke words of refusal.

A faint smile appeared on Alajina's usually serious-in-manner face, and she couldn't help but say,

"Of course, no problem, David."

"That's great, Alajina. David will cherish a hard-won friend like you, and I will also help you snatch your husband back. David is very good at doing this kind of thing."

"...Very good at it?"

David nodded and said with great confidence,

"That's right... Then may I ask, how is the relationship between Alajina and your husband?"

"I rarely see him, but our feelings are very deep, and we already have the reality of being husband and wife. I want to marry him very much, but there are always other women causing trouble between him and me..."

For some reason, Alajina emphasized the words "reality of being husband and wife" very heavily.

After hearing this, David went through an analysis that appeared to be extremely intense based on his jumping-around expression. Then, he excitedly held up three fingers and said,

"Alajina, I have decided to name the operation to snatch back your husband 'Operation Snatch Love,' and I have prepared upper, middle, and lower strategies for this."

"...What did you say? Operation Snatch..."

"According to my analysis, there are probably three possibilities as to why your husband would be snatched away by other women. First, your power and charm are truly too weak, holding no attraction to your husband at all; second, the power and charm of the other women are truly too strong, which is what lured your husband away; third, your husband is just a scumbag who treats feelings casually, insatiably greedy, wanting both this and that..."

Alajina opened her mouth and then said,

"...Mother Goddess guarantees, the third is absolutely impossible."

"It's okay if it's impossible; the methods are universal. Let's listen to the upper strategy first. My upper strategy is to increase your own Rank and power, and it can also change your appearance, making you more charming and feminine."

"...Will it be more powerful than a Phoenix? More charming than a Phoenix?"

"Phoenix?" David didn't know why she suddenly mentioned Phoenix, but after a slight pause, he continued, "Of course. Although the upper strategy still cannot cross the Gate of Mythic, it is naturally more than enough when compared to a Phoenix below it."

"Then, what are the specific methods?"

"I plan to implant some very strong Prosthetic Bodies into you, such as your entire skeleton, replacing your whole arm, loading some high-power Particle Weapons inside your chest cavity, etc. Besides that, I can also change your appearance a bit, modify your face, and sculpt your body."

David enthusiastically pointed to the various drill bits and blades placed on the operating table nearby, leaving Alajina instantly speechless.

After a good while, she finally said somewhat hoarsely,

"What about the middle strategy?"

"Ah, the middle strategy. I can find some powerful conscious semi-finished Relics for you. These Relics were all forged later by my dad and the Angel Gabriel. Although they can't compare to true Teardrop Relics, they are undoubtedly extremely powerful Relics as well, the great culmination of the Holy Progenies' forging techniques. They are much more powerful than the Relic on your body. A person controls the artifact, and the artifact also assists the person. In this way, you will also become very powerful. I remember there are some Relics that can raise your charm, making your husband unable to stop being infatuated with you."

"...And compared to a Phoenix?"

"Hm, probably a fifty-fifty split with a Phoenix, assuming it isn't a very powerful Phoenix. You only need to tame those conscious Relics, preferably taming a few more to meet your diverse needs... There's just a tiny drawback. If you want to use those Relics, you'll have to pay a small price. After all, taming them isn't easy either."

"What is the price?"

"I'm not too clear about it either, but David thinks it will probably, maybe, perhaps be 'a billion times' harder than completely mastering the sword Relic on your body."

"...Then what about the lower strategy?"

"The lower strategy is simply to use external objects like Cardinals... Primarily because the Shelter's energy is disconnected, so there's no way to start the machine tools. There are less than a hundred Cardinals left here, and they are all very low-level Cardinals as well. Furthermore, Alajina will also have to physically move them out bit by bit."

Alajina parted her lips. She didn't want to consider the upper strategy at all. She was very proud of her body and didn't want anything implanted; she basically wouldn't consider this option.

She originally wanted to ask David about the Relics in the middle strategy, seeking some decent Relics for her own use. But when she realized that using that kind of Relic would only make her about equal to a Phoenix, wouldn't using other things still leave her inferior?

Then, what about the third, lower strategy?

Alajina quickly grasped the key point. Perhaps the Cardinals weren't weak; her previous experiences in the Stormsea and Naris's glory also reminded her just how exaggerated the Cardinals were. It was just because the machine tools couldn't be started.

"Then how can the machine tools be started? Can the Shelter's energy be turned back on?"

David pursed his lips, looked at the extremely dark surroundings, and shook his head.

"They can be turned on, but I forgot where the energy switch is. It should be somewhere inside the Shelter. If the machine tools could be turned on, I could also repair my body. I don't remember how my body got damaged. Although it hasn't affected my core functions, this is the body mom and dad made for me after all. I don't want to see it become like this..."

David lifted his somewhat tattered white robe, revealing the smooth-as-jade yet slightly damaged skin underneath, covered in ceramic-like cracks and scars.

But after taking off the white robe, David's expression suddenly turned distressed, as if he remembered something.

"However, Alajina, even if the energy can be restored, I might not be able to operate the machine tools anymore."

"Why?"

"Because my external links seem to have been artificially cut off and closed. I cannot construct a network, link to, enter, or manipulate other Cardinals, nor can I manipulate the machine tools to manufacture Cardinals. The current me can only stay in this body made by mom and dad. Although this is also nice, I won't be able to help you..."

Little David beside them shook his head and said, realizing after the fact,

"No wonder I didn't receive any reply when I sent a signal here requesting a link. So your link was cut off and locked."

Alajina looked at David and asked,

"Who closed your link? Is there any way to turn it on?"

"I forgot who closed it. But if it isn't to help Alajina, whether it's linked to the outside or not doesn't matter... If Alajina needs it, I can research it myself. Perhaps I'll find a way to open it after some time. Until then, I can look for the energy switch inside the Shelter and think about how to turn on my locked external link switch. Alajina can take some Cardinals back first. They have manual physical control methods, so they can be operated without artificial intelligence."

So they can be operated manually without A.I.... No wonder Naris and the Black Chieftain could utilize these Cardinals.

She nodded and, following David's point, saw many neatly arranged, high-quality Cardinals. But she didn't go to take them directly. Instead, she looked at David sitting on a chair, smiling brightly at her.

It was as if, in her eyes, this existence wasn't some cold machine, but rather a living child who had been separated from his parents.

She parted her lips and couldn't help but ask,

"What about you, David? Do you need me to help you do anything? I will definitely do it, I promise."

"Help me..."

David was slightly startled. Then, he shook his head and said,

"I don't have anything I need you to help me with, Alajina. I am here waiting for my mom and dad to return. Other than that, I don't want anything else."

"What about your mom and dad? Where are they? Maybe I can help you find them."

"They..."

David thought for a moment, clutching the light radiating from his long, curly red hair as if he had a migraine.

"They... I don't quite remember exactly where they went. It seems... they are somewhere outside, somewhere outside the Shelter..."

"Outside? You mean... the Spirit World?"

Alajina looked at the enclosed room around her and was momentarily stunned.

"Hm, yes. David seems to remember that they are outside. But it's very dangerous outside, extremely dangerous for both me and Alajina, so I can only wait for them to return here. If we want to go outside to look for them, we need very, very strong power. If Alajina knows such a powerful person, please ask them to go outside and look for my mom and dad on my behalf. I miss them very much."

"...Okay. With the Mother Goddess as my witness, I will remember this."

"That's great, Alajina. From now on, you are David's best friend. You'll come back later, right?"

"Yes."

"Then take some Cardinals back first. It's just that I don't know if these Cardinals can beat that bad person who snatched your husband... Hm, if it doesn't work out, just make a few more trips. But it's best not to come too frequently. You came from within the world; frequently traveling through the Crevice in a short period of time will definitely be discovered by Him."

"Him?"

"Hm, I don't know who He is either; dad told me. Anyway, just come once every few days, Alajina."

"...Okay, I promise."

David smiled and nodded. He stood up and took Alajina over to pick out some Cardinals, explaining to her what these Cardinals could be used for along the way.

Under Little David's watchful gaze, she picked up four intact Cardinals, which was the maximum amount she could carry.

Afterward, amidst David's bright smile, Alajina decided not to stay any longer and called Little David to send her back.

"Buzz, buzz, buzz!"

The same sound of splitting the air, the same feeling of weightlessness, the same colorful sea of subconsciousness, until Alajina's feet firmly stood on the ground again. The surrounding air suddenly became fresh and full, the surrounding temperature slowly rose, and dazzling light filled her view. Meanwhile, the few perfectly intact Cardinals tightly held in her hands still tangibly existed and hadn't disappeared...

All of this wasn't a dream, but Reality.

"We have arrived, Alajina. Please rate Little David's service this time!"

"..."

Little David's voice came from beside her, but Alajina didn't have time to reply. She just suddenly collapsed weakly on the ground, her body panting uncontrollably.

She placed the Cardinals in her hands on the ground, looking at them from left to right. In order, they were a flying device that could grant the wearer rapid flight capabilities and featured hollow Particle Weapons, a Mantis Cutting Tool that could be used for close combat, a Particle Shield that could automatically hover, follow, and defend, and a Burrowing Snake-Shaped Cloaking Device for surveillance...

These Cardinals... They could be considered strong, but they could also be considered weak. However, these were Cardinals after all, such miraculous Cardinals that even Naris might not have completely mastered! And she had just met David, who possessed the entire treasure trove left behind by the Holy Progenies as well as the manufacturing methods for Cardinals!

This was only the beginning.

She stared expressionlessly at the Cardinals lying flat on the ground. Her breathing slowly calmed down. Then, she closed her eyes and, subconsciously, prayed with devotion,

"Mother Goddess bless us... Mother Goddess bless us..."

Outside the Frostwood Sycamore Tree, the north wind howled. The sky gradually darkened, and consuming the setting sun bit by bit was the incredibly gloomy sky, as well as the extremely cold and incredibly lonely moon.

Chapter 569: Secret of the Soul

"Fafnir, Fafnir!"

"Woo! Woo! Woo!"

Shifting our gaze temporarily away from the distant and cold Northern Border, we return across continents and oceans to the Southern Continent.

At this moment, inside the Red Dragon Court at the southern tip of the Southern Continent, the atmosphere was passionate. Within this kingdom that occupied a corner and wasn't considered vast, countless Dragon Court paper machés, thoroughly dyed by a natural red dye, fluttered midair in the gentle breeze.

This was a certain sacrificial tradition inherited after the establishment of the Red Dragon Court. This continuing tradition helped unify them, making the Red Dragon Court more united.

Looking out from the window in Fisher's room, the surfaces of the dragon heads floating in the sky were entangled by several transparent silk threads. The other ends were tied to the hands of many loudly cheering Dragon Court residents on the streets below.

This was Fisher's first time seeing such a spectacle. However, it wasn't his first time participating in an activity with the same nature as this kind of sacrifice, just that activities concerning other gods were a first.

When he lived in the church as a child, Sister Teresa often took him to participate in various worship services and festivals. Just like how many demi-humans in the Southern Continent naturally believed in Fafnir and the Northern Border believed in the Frost Phoenix, the faith in the West Continent was also relatively monolithic. Because of different faiths, their followers would also exhibit entirely different personality traits.

For instance, Alajina, who solely believed in the Frost Phoenix, was very lenient in accepting demi-humans and valued emotional bonds such as family, love, and friendship. On the other hand, the ocean-dwelling demi-humans who believed in Ramastia possessed a simple innocence and kindness. At the same time, perhaps because the Whale-kin inherited this God of a Hundred Faces' most authentic personality, their temperaments also became very detached, intrinsically loving to slack off and lie flat in life (with the exception of Xuan Shen).

In the Southern Continent, although the process of believing in Fafnir was interrupted midway due to historical reasons, his personality had a long-standing history along with the Dragon Court and the bloodline he left among the Dragon-kin.

Fafnir's faith actually gave Fisher a very complicated feeling. It felt more like "in me the tiger sniffs the rose," a little inconsistent inside and out. This nature was especially pronounced in Raphael.

The specific manifestation was that, on the surface, she appeared barbaric and boisterous, but her inner heart was actually very delicate and gentle.

Thinking about these random things, the Mana Circuits on Fisher's body, who was sitting in the room, dimmed bit by bit. It was as if, looking at the extremely lively scene outside, his thoughts also slowly calmed down.

At this moment, Fisher was shirtless, sitting in front of his study desk. The windowsill faced him closely, revealing the bright morning sky outside.

Placing the study desk in front of the windowsill was a habit Fisher had since his time in Saint-Nazareth. It helped him think and refreshed his mind, especially now, his mind was exceptionally clear, like a sage whose name would go down in history.

On the bed beside him, the messy bedding wrapped up the somewhat exhausted Raphael's delicate body. Hidden in the shadow turning its back on the morning sun were her slightly dimmed pair of dragon horns and her sweet sleeping face—every time she rested, the two horns on her head, acting as a part of her soul, would undergo corresponding changes. This was the conclusion Fisher had reached after day and night of observation.

It was interesting to note that these past few days, she had been running around busying herself with the Dragon Court's war matters. It was the same yesterday; she didn't return to lie down beside Fisher until early morning.

According to Fisher's habitual thinking, if you returned to rest completely exhausted, you should just go straight to sleep. However, this didn't seem to be the case for Dragon-kin.

The first thing Raphael did every day when she returned to Fisher's side was to demand him, and she could demand several times, as if this was a part of her stress relief or rest.

Only after eating and drinking her fill would she fall into a deep sleep in contentment. Then, simply by resting for a very short period of time, she would be revived with full health, brimming with energy.

This was the living habit of the Dragon-kin, making Fisher, a human, somewhat confused. Fortunately, he had already reached the Mythic Rank, and his Breeding Rank was ridiculously high. Therefore, Raphael's needs were just a drop in the bucket to him, completely negligible.

It was the same today; she fell into a deep sleep right after making her demands, leaving Fisher alone to enjoy the tranquil morning.

Eimhart was resting outside. A few days ago, in order to prevent this guy, who was exceptionally annoying at night, from ruining her good deeds, Raphael specifically arranged a room for him, letting Eimhart, a book, occupy an entire room...

This idea probably popped up a few nights ago when Raphael enthusiastically returned to Fisher's room from outside, preparing to wash away her fatigue, only to see Eimhart sleeping on Fisher in the room.

But this was good too; this way, he could properly study the Completion Handbook.

At this moment, Fisher's brain was extraordinarily clear. After confirming that the Life Completion Manual couldn't be read, he temporarily set his sights on another Soul Completion Handbook he possessed.

He had already read this handbook before, but he hadn't completely finished it. There were still a few loose ends left behind because his soul quality, or rather, his rank, wasn't sufficient to support him reading the ensuing contents at the time, so he temporarily gave up.

He still remembered that the last time he read up to Caleb Uz having the thought of heading to the Red Dragon Court to enter the Spirit World. It seemed that this place, the Spirit World, was the destination for all the members of the Creator's Society. They firmly believed that the exit to return home was located somewhere in the Spirit World.

There wasn't much left. Before reading, Fisher at this moment also started to ponder a question concerning his old profession—magic.

Previously, he found Jasmine privately to inquire about the damage to the Fluid Sword, but she told him that repairing the Fluid Sword required the power of Lamastia, or else he would have to wait for the power contained within the Fluid Sword to slowly recover...

But looking at its impotent state, Fisher estimated that it wouldn't grow back anytime soon.

Without the Fluid Sword, his combat methods appeared very monotonous.

It was true that he was at the Mythic Rank, but compared to other innate Mythical Species, it seemed that he currently only had a simple set of brute strength to use. Moreover, according to the viewpoint of the Life Completion Manual, his current "human" form couldn't fully exert the power of the Mythic Rank.

Other Mythical Species, or entities that entered the Mythic Rank later on, possessed an extremely deep understanding of this world's rules. Since Fisher relied on Chaos to enter the Mythic Rank, did it mean that his Mythic Rank power had to rely on Chaos to take effect?

The power of Life Chaos could perhaps be used. By changing his own appearance, he could adjust into a structure suitable for exerting power. However, since he hadn't obtained the Treasure, he couldn't change into a structure that surpassed the Mythic Rank.

Thus, he had to consider another path related to Chaos: magic.

In reality, both souls and magic belonged to the power of Chaos. But compared to the power of the Completion Handbooks, Fisher still subconsciously wanted to consider magic, a method he was very familiar with and confirmed to be safe.

The highest power of magic was only the Fourteenth-Tier, which meant it was a power incapable of surpassing the Mythic Rank. However, this didn't mean that magic couldn't produce power comparable to the Mythic Rank.

Currently, Fisher only knew of one method to increase the power of magic, and that was to improve the quality of magic through multiple Circle Heads.

The problem presented itself: Currently, the only known Multi-Ring Prime Magic in the entire human magical world was the "Killing Dragonspear" created by Teacher Helson.

Fisher didn't know the exact process by which Helson developed the Dual Circle Head Magic. It could be a flash of inspiration brought about by talent, or it could be theoretical experiments accumulated over time. Helson had never revealed this process to the outside world, and the only reason Fisher knew about this magic's existence was because he was his student; he had never announced this magic to academia...

But when he was in the Ideal State, Fisher had personally witnessed Karasawa Asuka casually creating multi-ring magic using the Chaos in her brain, and it wasn't any form that he had ever taught her.

Karasawa Asuka was the current Magic Lord and highly likely the true origin of magic in the world. Fisher wasn't surprised that she possessed such cheating-like talent. As a student, there's no need to necessarily fall short of the teacher. The problem now was how he, the teacher, should learn from the student to grasp the method of creating Multi-Ring Prime Magic...

He narrowed his eyes, casting his gaze upon the Soul Completion Handbook before him.

Suddenly, he had an inspiration.

What if the power of magic originated from the soul, and Circle Heads and magic discovery were actually deconstructions of the operating rules within Reality?

The essence of such a theory dictated two requirements for creating magic. First, an adequately powerful mana capacity (soul quality), which would provide Fisher with a source for inscribing magic and sufficient trial-and-error costs. Second, some sort of method and power capable of clearly deconstructing the operating rules, which would allow Fisher to observe previously unobtainable magical laws from an absolutely unprecedented perspective.

And perhaps Karasawa Asuka could satisfy both of these points simultaneously, which was why she possessed such exaggerated magical talent.

Coincidentally, Fisher currently had an item on hand that could satisfy both of these needs simultaneously.

The Soul Completion Handbook.

He gently pinched the cover of the Soul Completion Handbook, opening it bit by bit. Just like before, the Mana Circuits on his body suddenly lit up. But the difference was, the moment his skin flipped the completion handbook open, an extremely bizarre feeling surged into Fisher's heart.

He felt everything around him suddenly turn deep and profound, as if all scenes in the surroundings were slowly disappearing, leaving only the boundless darkness, the chair he sat on, the completion handbook before him, and the wooden desk beneath it still existing.

Fisher didn't feel uncomfortable; he merely furrowed his brows, wanting to continue looking at the contents on the Soul Completion Handbook. But right at this moment, opposite him, a pale male hand with sparse black body hair gently tapped on the page of the completion handbook, interrupting his reading.

"..."

Fisher looked up in silence, only to see a middle-aged man with thinning hair on his head, possessing only a very shallow layer of hair on the back of his head, looking at him expressionlessly from across the desk.

His face showed signs of weather, he had dark purple bags under his eyes, and his eyes were full of blood vessels, entirely lacking in spirit. The simple pale red plain clothes on his body had an extremely intense Southern Continent Dragon Court style, but the thin clothing accentuated his emaciated figure.

Meeting Fisher's gaze, he slowly withdrew the hand tapping on the Soul Completion Handbook. Following that, he slowly and weakly clapped his hands, and said to Fisher,

"Congratulations. After me, among those who have possessed this completion handbook, it has been a long time since anyone has reached the Mythic Rank. You are the first, and I fear you will also be the last."

"...Caleb Uz?"

Fisher had seen this man's figure before, when he experienced hallucinations in his mind back in the Northern Border.

The man before him nodded and replied listlessly,

"Yes, it is me. You don't need to be confused as to why you suddenly entered here now. This is all something I set up beforehand. Right now, you have already read the vast majority of the notes I recorded. The only thing remaining is an extremely brief section, my final words before attempting to enter the Spirit World. Finishing reading that section means that you have inherited all the knowledge within my brain. That section isn't large in quantity, but it's extremely dangerous, so I need to make sure the possessor's soul is adequately strong, or perhaps twisted—at least Mythic Rank.

"Before you begin reading that section, I need to share some things with you... some things not recorded in the completion handbook. Consider it a bit of a warning, or perhaps experience sharing. After listening, you can decide for yourself whether you want to continue reading that section."

Fisher didn't continue looking at the pages of the completion handbook on the desk but entirely focused on this incredibly weather-beaten and exhausted man before him. He was another Transferred Person from outside the world.

He could tell that this "Caleb Uz" before him wasn't a living soul, but rather the contents recorded in the completion handbook bearing the information Caleb Uz wanted to convey. However, Fisher wasn't clear on the method. Given the intelligence level of the shadow before him, it was hard to say whether this was some sort of application of Chaotic Knowledge of the soul.

He hesitated for a moment and asked,

"...What do you want to share with me?"

"A secret. The Secret of the Soul."

"Soul?"

"Hmm, although I haven't come into contact with many other possessors of completion handbooks—only one, which was the Lord of Fate, or rather the President she disguised herself as—during my long research process, I began to realize that the knowledge contained within my brain is perhaps the most special one among all the completion handbooks. It's not because of anything else, but because this knowledge is all closely related to one concept..."

Caleb Uz's pale face lowered bit by bit. Following that, he rubbed his hands together, then spoke with a hint of trembling and nervousness,

"Did you know? Outside the world, the place where I originally lived, Earth... or whatever messy other galaxies, universes... Anyway, in that place, souls [do not exist]. Or rather, it's not that they don't exist, but no one, no entity whatsoever knows they exist."

Fisher furrowed his brows. After all, from his worldview, it was common sense known by almost everyone that souls tangibly existed. Even those who had never gone to school or learned magic knew of their existence. This momentarily prevented him from understanding Caleb Uz's words.

"What does this mean? Does it mean the soul is something unique to our world?"

But the moment those words left his mouth, he immediately felt something was wrong. Because if that were the case, it would be absolutely impossible for Karasawa Asuka to possess Mana Circuits, something he was very familiar with.

As expected, Caleb Uz quickly shook his head and said,

"On the contrary, the soul is the only rule that works universally between this world and the outside. It's just that very few people realize this logic. It was only because of the special nature of the Chaotic Knowledge I obtained that I was fortunate enough to learn this secret... As you know, there are faults when it comes to things like information. As the saying goes, the higher you stand, the further you see. This logic is very obvious; the more powerful and intelligent an entity is, the more they know compared to other entities...

"Let's magnify this macroscopically to a race-level. Within our world, we know very little about the world outside the firmament, and the same goes for the rules running the world; and there definitely are other, more powerful, and smarter races that know more and can do more than us; then, there definitely are even more powerful and smarter races than that group... Deduced in this manner, constantly pointing upward, all the way to those powerful deities existing similar to this world, Ramastia, Dagon, Annebatos, Hela, Ouyun..."

Speaking up to this point, Caleb Uz's expressionless face slowly lifted to look at Fisher before him. Shortly after, he said,

"Then, following the previous logic forward, if these deities also haven't reached the power and wisdom of being omniscient and omnipotent, then above Them, there must also be something that even They cannot understand the principles, nature, and source of... It's just that for Them—heh—compared to humanity, the very first example we used, the things They don't know are very few, and as They become increasingly powerful, the things They don't know also become lesser and lesser..."

"Are you saying..."

"Yes, this thing is the soul, and it is also the thing most related to the knowledge I obtained..."

Caleb Uz smiled mournfully, then continued,

"Within our world, the soul is completely uncatchable; it's like a fantastical concept. It wasn't until I arrived in this world that it was confirmed that I actually also possess a soul just like yours, and it truly exists... But within your world, souls [have a shape]. This is completely contradictory to the knowledge I obtained. The Sea of Souls here isn't normal, or rather, it's very special, very... [precious].

"The closeness of its cohesion can even reach the point of restoring individual consciousnesses possessing [Quasi-Soul Authority]. Those powerful existences that peacefully gaze upon this world day and night, those stars, are the proof. Not only that, the gap in power between it and the souls outside the world is also very large, which is why Ramastia could create those few extremely powerful Demigods...

"No one knows where those manifested souls originate from. The gods treated them as nature's gifts, but I can confirm that those souls have owners. Their owner is that very existence presiding over the soul, the one whose rules and source even the gods cannot comprehend. And in the subsequent content of the completion handbook, I recorded a corner of His power revealed in the knowledge, which is why I said my completion handbook is the most special among all handbooks...

"If you decide to continue reading, you will witness the magnificence of the soul. You will feel the power hidden deep within your body and witness all the spectacular views seen by the soul that has traversed countless mountains and rivers, innumerable bodies, and infinite distances. But you will also fall into unprecedented danger. Your soul will first degenerate into Chaos unaccepted by this world, turning into a thirsty predator...

"The soul is the source of consciousness, and it is also the most direct Authority originating from a certain unknown powerful existence. The price for powerful strength will be madness unmatched by any other completion handbook. Therefore, you need a clear goal sufficient to support you against this thirst in order to maintain your sanity through this struggle. Do you have such a goal?"

Hearing this, Fisher was slightly startled. He had just received simply too much from Caleb Uz's mouth and hadn't completely digested it when he heard his final question.

Recalling the things he had recorded in the completion handbook in the past, Fisher couldn't help but ask,

"Did you use this power in order to go home, to go home and see your wife and daughter?"

Caleb Uz's tired face paused slightly upon hearing this, and then a very faint smile curled up at the corners of his mouth.

"Yes, I miss them very much. They are the pillar for me to keep going. Therefore, I didn't hesitate to borrow the power of knowledge."

Fisher didn't know the entire sequence of events. He only knew that in the end, Caleb Uz failed; otherwise, this completion handbook wouldn't have ultimately fallen into his hands.

But perhaps, just like the current Fisher, he also had his own unspeakable difficulties that forced him to do so.

"I understand. Thank you for sharing, Mr. Caleb Uz..."

Caleb Uz gave a faint smile but didn't say anything else. Subsequently, the darkness surrounding them suddenly disappeared, and the handwriting on the completion handbook on the desk also became extremely clear.

Outside the window, the paper maché dragon head of Fafnir didn't know where it floated off to, leaving only the extremely quiet morning sky.

Looking at that sky, pondering the information he just obtained from Caleb Uz's mouth, an inspiration, an inspiration about magic suddenly appeared in Fisher's mind.

"Mm..."

He was a bit overjoyed inside, wanting to try putting this thought closely related to the Soul Completion Handbook into practice. But at the exact same time, from the bed beside him, a somewhat unpeaceful whimper suddenly interrupted all his thoughts.

He paused slightly and turned his head, only to see Raphael, who was currently lying in the bedding resting, with her eyes closed but her face not looking too good, as if she was having a terrifying nightmare.

Fisher hurriedly stood up and quietly came to her side. Upon getting closer, he discovered that her forehead was already covered with a thin layer of cold sweat, making her strands of hair stick to it...

"Black Mud... stay away..."

Leaning closer, he heard her softly murmuring some sleep talk, describing the scenes in her nightmare.

Chapter 570: The Door of Emotions

In her dream, Raphaela's consciousness seemed to be constantly sinking, falling into endless darkness.

She didn't know exactly where she was going; she only felt everything beside her receding. Finally, what slowly appeared before her eyes and echoed in her ears was a boundless darkness mixed with some sort of fishy stench.

Raphaela seemed to have seen this scene many times, but every time she woke up, she would forget. Only right now, within her dream, could she find a tiny trace of the memory.

"Transferred Person..."

Before her was architecture hundreds and thousands of times more glorious than the Red Dragon Court. Wailing and running around inside were even more Dragon-kin than there were today. And constantly chasing after them was a twisted, tsunami-like black mire.

That black mire had no fixed shape, but as it surged forward, it revealed ferocious faces one after another. Those faces belong to Dragon-kin and other Demi-humans... They maintained the ferocious expressions from the moment before they became victims, with their mouths wide open, biting each other, all simultaneously letting out sounds of agony.

"No... my wife... my daughter..."

"Where are you going..."

"Come back... quickly come back..."

"Everything was a lie to me... Why... why... Master of Souls, why must you be so cruel... why must you torture me like this..."

"Why... It's impossible for us to go back... why..."

The moment she heard those voices, before Raphaela even had the time to discern what exactly those voices were saying, "herself" had already let out an extremely infuriated dragon roar. From within "her" body, an unmatched and terrifying power instantly spread out, causing the color of heaven and earth to change, turning into a barbaric and burning power, preparing to fight to the death with the shapeless Black Mud before her.

And it was exactly at this moment that behind Raphaela, a calm murmur—from an unknown creature, of an unknown gender, and of an unknown existence—suddenly sounded.

"Stay away from him..."

In her sleep, Raphaela was slightly startled. Then, she detached from that massive and strong dragon body and turned her head to look. In the darkness, she saw a slightly open mouth, and within its oral cavity, an enormously large eye that filled the entire space between the lips was quietly looking at her.

And that calm warning was exactly coming from His mouth. He repeated once again,

"Stay away from him."

"...Away from who? And who are you?"

"..."

That large eye didn't answer Raphaela's question. Instead, it suddenly burst open like a balloon, blooming with colorful mist from within, quickly filling Raphaela's entire field of vision.

Then, she seemed to see Fisher's figure.

His figure standing there instantly grabbed Raphaela's eyeballs, as if it gave her support and a sense of security within this patch of darkness.

A look of joy appeared on her face, and she subconsciously wanted to call out to her husband,

"Fishe..."

But halfway through her words, beside her, a Blue-haired Whale-kin with a broad, soft, and bouncy chest plunged into Fisher's embrace one step ahead of her, tightly hugging him. It was as if it was a classic reproduction, causing Raphaela to instantly freeze on the spot.

"Rumble!"

Raphaela fiercely opened her eyes from her dream. Her body was covered in cold sweat, as if she had just experienced a torture.

"Haha..."

Subsequently, what entered her eyes was the dimly lit room under the first light of dawn, and Fisher, who was close at hand, looking at her with deep concern.

"Raphaela, thank goodness, you're awake..."

Fisher's worried expression relaxed a little. However, the Raphaela lying on the bed at this moment was furious. She was slightly startled, then puffed up her cheeks and leaned forward a bit. After vigilantly sniffing the scent on his body and confirming that it was entirely her own scent and there was no fresh fragrance of the ocean, she finally pulled her head back.

At this moment, Raphaela only remembered the latter half of the dream, as if that was the true dream she had just had. What she had seen earlier was merely a groundless illusion that couldn't be counted...

But halfway through pulling back, she recalled the scene in her dream where Jasmine tightly hugged him earlier. Thus, her anger rose again, and with an 'Aowu', she took a bite out of Fisher's collarbone, making Fisher even more confused.

"...What are you doing?"

"..."

She didn't open her mouth to answer. She merely gently let go of the spot she had bitten Fisher, and then gently extended her tongue to lick that place.

"Did you have a nightmare?"

"...Mn."

"What did you dream about?"

"I dreamed that you and Jasmine, right in front of me..."

"..."

Fisher patted her head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, and silently changed the subject,

"You've only slept for three hours. Do you want to rest a bit more?"

"No."

"...Then do you want to get up and go take another look at the military camp?"

Raphaela gently hugged Fisher's shoulders. She shook her head again, exhaled hot air, and said softly,

"No..."

"Then what do you want?"

"I want you..."

"..."

Wait, didn't you just before falling asleep...

Fisher raised an eyebrow, took a step back, and looked somewhat speechlessly at the Raphaela hugging him without letting go. For a moment, he also didn't know what to say.

It seemed that because as a Dragon-kin she would always be the first one to admit defeat, she was very untiring in wanting to challenge Fisher's physiological limits.

However, for Fisher, who had now been strengthened by the Demi-Human Completion Handbook, all challenges in this regard were nothing but a passing shower to him, completely useless.

The only one who made him feel willing to bow to her superiority now and perhaps even in the future was probably only that bad Angel named "Helaire".

Fisher keenly noticed the true need beneath her demands. Perhaps she was just jealous of Jasmine and wanted to possess him through this method, rather than truly craving it... Of course, it was also possible that she was still craving it, just not that much.

He stroked Raphaela's face, then said softly,

"I have already met your mother..."

"Mm..."

Raphaela puffed up her cheeks and chewed over Fisher's words. Only then did she gently release Fisher, whom she had grabbed. She stretched her waist from the side and sat up,

"Then what were you doing just now?"

"...Researching Magic."

"Researching Magic? Aren't you very powerful when it comes to magic? Do you still need to research?"

"Knowledge is infinite; no matter how much you learn, it is never enough..."

Fisher smiled slightly and replied in such a manner.

And in fact, reading the Soul Completion Handbook and meeting Caleb Uz just now did bring him a bit of inspiration, giving him a possible conjecture that could elevate the power of magic.

The highest power of single-ring magic was only the Fourteenth-Tier. If one wanted to grope further upwards to increase their capabilities, humanity currently only knew of the multi-ring method. But the problem lay in the fact that a magician couldn't just add a plurality of Circle Heads whenever they wanted. Fisher believed that he didn't possess Karasawa Asuka's cheat-like comprehension ability toward magic, where she could judge the structure of Multi-Ring Prime Magic purely by intuition.

If given ample research time, Fisher could very well immerse himself in it, spending three to five years to try various things and pioneer the academic level of the magic world.

But the problem was, he urgently needed to use Mythic power magic right now. He simply didn't have so many opportunities and so much time to experiment and trial-and-error...

However, in this world, there were some existences whose understanding of magic might be as deep as the Mother Goddess or Karasawa Asuka.

He remembered the first time he read the "Source Magic Book"; he read about a thing called "Star Magic". Fundamentally, this was something bestowed upon humanity by the Mother Goddess to connect with the Chaos-kin, allowing the Blessings of the Chaos-kin to be born onto human females, granting them a portion of the Chaos-kin's traits and abilities.

Although every Witch's Traits were different, they all had a no different commonality—a Mana Circuit and talent different from ordinary people, and this was also the origin of the race name [Witch].

From Caleb Uz's words, it could be known that the power of the soul originated from outside the world and belonged to the chaotic side's power. This could also explain why magic was also a chaotic power.

And Chaos-kin were consciousness entities formed by the culmination and condensation of soul power. At the same time, they had some sort of agreement with the Mother Goddess in the past; otherwise, they wouldn't have helped the Mother Goddess pact with humanity to form Witches. Perhaps they knew the secret of magic.

Yes, Fisher planned to use Star Magic to see if he could find Multi-Ring Prime Magic or a more universal method to elevate the power of magic above the Mythic Rank from the Chaos-kin.

There was a possibility of this method succeeding because Fisher knew he had a strong aura of the Mother Goddess's reincarnation on him. This might earn their friendliness and help.

This thought wasn't Fisher pulling wind from a hollow cave. One piece of corroborating evidence was that when in the Northern Border, that group of Chaos-kin also generated an unusual interest in him. At the very least, Fisher could confirm that kind of interest wasn't malicious, and this was also his proof for attempting this.

Hearing this, Raphaela rubbed her shoulders. Smiling, she was just about to say something when, at this moment, a soft knocking sound suddenly drifted from the door.

"Knock, knock..."

"Eimhart, wait a minute, I'll be up right away."

Fisher thought it was Eimhart. Usually, at this time, he should be flying over with a stinky face using his head to bump the door. Raphaela was also used to it, so she didn't show a surprised expression when the knocking sounded; she merely prepared to reach out and pick up the clothes that had been flung off and landed under the bed earlier.

But after Fisher opened his mouth, what came from outside the door wasn't Eimhart's drake voice, but a voice as soft as Cotton Candy,

"Fisher... It's me."

This voice...

It's Jasmine!

Fisher was slightly startled. For some unknown reason, cold sweat instantly popped out on his forehead.

He subconsciously turned his head to look at Raphaela beside him, only to see her movements of just about getting up from the bedding pause slightly. Following that, her expression instantly became dangerous, as if doubting whether the innocent Fisher had done some bad things behind her back.

"Ra..."

Raphaela didn't listen to Fisher's explanation. She simply silently pulled the bedding up again, covering her body while expressionlessly pointing her finger at Fisher in the direction of the door, as if telling him to go open it.

She wanted to see what those two could do here!

Raphaela raised her index finger at Fisher and placed it in front of her lips. Then, she raised her small fist, meaning, "Don't expose me, or else you'll get it good".

Afterward, she laid down on her side. Her long red hair cascaded down the edge of the bed like a waterfall, pretending to be fast asleep.

"...Is there something the matter, Jasmine?"

Fisher could only stand up and go open the door. While speaking, he grabbed the door handle and slowly opened the door, revealing a small crack completely filled by Fisher's body.

The door opened, instantly revealing Jasmine standing outside wearing the Red Dragon Court priest robe. At this moment, she was looking around, examining the extremely quiet corridor, as if afraid someone would come over.

When Fisher opened the door, revealing his lean and muscular upper body, Jasmine's eyeballs were instantly caught and pulled back.

Her small face flushed slightly. While dodging her gaze, she cherished taking everything in. Soon after, she swallowed a gulp of saliva and made as if to enter the room,

"Fisher, can we go inside to talk?"

"..."

Inside the room, the Raphaela lying on her side trembled slightly. She had clearly heard this gentle and soft voice.

Fisher didn't turn his head back but sensed the danger. He didn't yield the path but very appropriately took a step back. Because of this, more of the scenes within the room appeared within the crack of the door that was filled by his body.

For example, the messy armor and clothing scattered on the ground...

Jasmine was instantly stunned. Her flashing gaze caught the Raphaela lying on her side on the bed "fast asleep." Thus, she almost instantly realized what had happened here just now, and her face became even redder.

Her voice instantly shrank to the point of being imperceptible, seemingly worried about waking Raphaela up. She was heard mumbling,

"Is... is Raphaela inside?"

"...Mn, is there something the matter, Jasmine?"

Fisher also lowered his voice a bit, seemingly also afraid of waking Raphaela. But he was still considering how to remind Jasmine that the current Raphaela was awake, lest she say some shocking words and instantly ignite the powder keg.

"M-matter? I... um... ah... what was I going to say again..."

But Jasmine had already been frightened by the things leaping out of the syllabus before her eyes. She was still too young and too green. Perhaps she did originally have something to say to Fisher when she came over, but under the impact of the scattered clothes in the room and Fisher's body, her brain had completely disconnected.

Looking at her currently silly appearance, the worries Fisher originally had about her words also laid down a bit. He had no choice but to help her sort it out,

"Then where did you just return from? You didn't return here to rest yesterday either, right?"

"Ah, I was outside preparing logistics, so... I remember now! I came here to tell you that another West Continent person arrived at the seaside this morning, and he also said he's looking for you."

"West Continent person?"

"Mn, it seems to be a Carduan man. He looks... um, very tall and thin, as if he hasn't slept for many days. His spirit is very, very poor. He was discovered by the fishermen on the shore and is now detained outside the shore's defense line. Then someone came to notify me, so I..."

Raphaela's silently perked ears relaxed a bit. She originally thought it was some dangerous content about a secret affair, but looking at it now, it wasn't the case.

Her wary heart that was ready to explode at any moment was put down bit by bit; she merely continued to listen to the contents over there.

And the moment Fisher heard the description, he knew that the phone call he made to Death Minister Holland a week ago had taken effect. His landlord had told him about his news, so he quickly came here.

It's really quite fast, rushing here from the West Continent in just a week?

However, even though the personnel of the Creator's Society have withered now, they still had some foundation. A Lord Cardinal or Lord of Fate probably had this kind of capability.

"Ah, he is a friend of mine and plays a very important role in this war... You didn't tell anyone else about this, right?"

"Of course not. Because West Continent people appearing here is very dangerous. I have also properly settled that Ingrid in the Myriad Flower Court. With Aunt Yali'er taking care of her, she won't be in any danger for the time being... Moreover, if we let them be exposed to the eyes of the Dragon Court, it will have an impact on Raphaela and the morale of the upcoming war."

Jasmine smiled slightly, silently arranging everything properly. Yes, Fisher had completely forgotten about Ingrid. Raphaela was probably the same when she became busy. But Jasmine clearly had a lot of affairs on her hands as well, yet she still remembered these trivial matters.

Although he had secretly agreed with Jasmine earlier that they were very close and he could totally sneak into her room, because of Raphaela's possessiveness—forcing him to stay by her side every night—it was absolutely impossible for Fisher to go see Jasmine. He was deeply afraid of sparking any further conflicts when a storm was brewing.

But the Jasmine who came at this moment didn't have any intentions of sending an army to hold someone accountable or any dissatisfied complaints. It was as if she could understand everything in her eyes.

"Thank you, Jasmine, this was my oversight."

"...It's okay, Fisher. Raphaela is also very exhausted these days. She has to personally lead the army to face that general from a few years ago. To be honest, I think maybe... there isn't much chance of winning. Maybe she thinks so too, but she never showed it in the eyes of outsiders, only hiding it in the bottom of her heart... Feeling this way will be very tiring. I am very worried about her state, but because of Fisher's matter, I also don't know how to face her anymore... So, let her have a good rest. She will feel very comfortable by your side... I... am the same way."

Jasmine didn't look at the blush-inducing scene in the room anymore. She only softly spoke everything out loud. It was only at the very, very end that she spoke a dangerous sentence that "crossed the line".

But for some unknown reason, Fisher at this moment hadn't noticed it. Instead, he took a deep look at her, who was somewhat bashful and embarrassed.

"Then let's leave it at that. When Raphaela wakes up, Fisher can go check the coastal defense line. I've already instructed them to entertain that friend... I'll be, off then."

Jasmine smiled and pursed her lips. She first looked through the door for one last time at the fast asleep Raphaela on the bed turning her back to her. Then she looked at Fisher before her. She carefully reached out her hand, originally aiming for the muscles on his body, but then bashfully changed direction midway, opting to stroke Fisher's hand instead.

She squeezed it for a few seconds, as if drawing energy hidden in his hand, before barely letting go.

"Take good care of yourself too, Jasmine."

"Mn, I will."

Jasmine smiled and nodded. Afterward, she finally let go of Fisher's hand and softly turned to leave, without making a single sound.

Fisher watched her back disappear at the end of the corridor before closing the door, sealing the space inside the room once again.

Looking back, with the sound of the door closing and Jasmine's departure, the Raphaela on the bed surprisingly still maintained that fast-asleep appearance, motionless, with her back facing Fisher.

Fisher raised an eyebrow, thinking she was angry because of the somewhat ambiguous sentence that crossed the line at the end of Jasmine's words. He subconsciously opened his mouth, wanting to coax her,

"Raphaela..."

But the next second, Raphaela naturally sat up, brushing aside some messy red hair that fell on her forehead behind her pointy ears.

She turned her head, and Fisher's figure was reflected in her emerald green eyes. There was some unclear meaning within it. Fisher couldn't read what she was thinking, but he knew she wasn't angry because of the words Jasmine had just spoken.

She opened her mouth, then turned her head to pick up the clothes scattered below the bed one by one, while asking in passing,

"Who is that Carduan friend of yours? The castellan we met in the Southern Continent previously? Your junior?"

She didn't mention what had just happened at all, including Jasmine coming over, Jasmine's words of concern for her, and that single somewhat ambiguous sentence Jasmine said to Fisher. She just suddenly spoke of business.

Seeing that one or two pieces were too far for her to reach, Fisher picked them up for her and handed them over, replying,

"No, you don't know him. The one you mentioned is Keken. He should be in Naris now. I haven't seen him for a long time, and I still owe him many favors..."

"Then is this Carduan person very special? Why did you say he's so important to our war?"

"...Because he has some connection to the Demon Dynasty where the Demons reside. He can help me defeat that Barbatos."

"I see..."

Raphaela first wrapped her underwear on herself, then used her tail to pick up her shirt, tossing it into her hands and putting it on piece by piece. Her face was enveloped by her clothes, preventing Fisher from seeing her expression clearly as she changed. He could only wait until she was free and finally got off the bed fully dressed; her expression had already become very normal, no different than before.

However, her gaze inconspicuously glanced at the currently tightly shut door, as if not looking at the door, but looking at something else.

Soon after, she stretched vigorously, picked up her armor nearby, and smiled as she looked at Fisher,

"Mn, my condition has recovered nicely. I should get to work... Watch the house, darling~"

It was clearly just a joking sentence, like what a husband going out would say to the wife seeing him off. But at this moment, upon saying that "darling," Helaire's smiling face suddenly occupied Fisher's entire brain. Like a brand, he was forced to recall her.

This even caused the words he used to reply to Raphaela to pause for a moment before he said,

"...Alright. By the way, when do you plan to set off with the army?"

"In the next few days. Barbatos's army is already arriving at the Southern Branch Mountain Range one after another; I must also make some preparations in advance... I will leave the matters here to the patriarch of the Bat-Man Species to handle. At that time, Jasmine will also march to war with me."

At this moment, she had already walked to the door. And as she spoke up to here, she glanced again at the currently tightly shut door, and suddenly continued,

"I will personally go tell her of my arrangements... That's it then. I'm off, Fisher."

The door opened and closed, leaving Fisher alone in the room.

Raphaela came first and left later; Jasmine came later and left first. The two women who were originally like sisters but had a rift because of him, after being in a cold war for so long, seemed to have an indescribable connection this morning.

Fisher couldn't explain it clearly either. After all, matters of feelings were very subjective, and many thoughts and ideas lay only in the unspoken words of an instant.

But for some unknown reason, looking at that door that had closed again because of Raphaela's departure, a smile slowly hung on his face.

Mn, it seems there's a tiny bit of hope for the multi-species combo research in the second stage of the Demi-Human Completion Handbook?

It was only a tiny bit. He still hadn't escaped the conflict between the two, but at least he saw a glimmer of dawn.

"Thump, thump, thump."

The next moment, the door was suddenly knocked again, continuing the somewhat ambiguous and unclear whirlpool of emotions in the room.

Fisher froze slightly. He looked at the door and softly opened his mouth,

"Who?"

"...It's your daddy, the Great Sir Book Artifact, Eimhart!"

"..."

Chapter 571: The Flaw of the Demon Gods

This was the second time Fisher had come to the Dragon Court's coastal defense line. The last time was when Ingrid was taken hostage by two Demon Attendants to force a confrontation. Compared to back then, the defense line was guarded much more strictly now. To prevent panic among the public, they had sealed off the area where the demons had previously held their rituals.

However, because Jasmine had vouched for him beforehand, Fisher encountered absolutely no obstruction at all and brought Eimhart along to arrive here.

After inquiring with the guarding Dragon Court soldiers, he found out that they had arranged for Holland to stay in a stone building at a border post.

The coastal border post was a tower-like structure about a dozen meters high. One was built every few hundred meters, and the defense line was constructed using these stone border post towers as base units. This stone tower wasn't far from the place where he had previously met Ingrid. When Fisher climbed the tower, he could even see the giant crater on the distant beach, still a patch of scarlet red—the landscape left behind after the demons' ritual failed.

"Sir, the Priest ordered for the person to be arranged inside."

"Alright, thank you."

Fisher wore the robe of the Prayer and Blessing Tower, his face covered by a hood. Between the slightly crossed collar at his chest, Eimhart's single eye, which was observing the outside world, was faintly visible.

After the soldier leading the way nearby turned around and left, Fisher gently grasped the door handle. The moment he slowly pushed it open, an extremely thick and pungent smell of alcohol rushed out from inside.

Fisher raised an eyebrow, leaving the door open to let the smell inside disperse a bit. Then, slightly covering his mouth and nose, he walked into the room.

Directly facing the door in the room were two windows with a decent view. Outside the windows were the ocean and the beach. Looking from here, one could exactly see the traces of the demons' ritual from before.

In front of those windows, two wooden chairs were placed slightly askew. Sitting on one of the chairs was a man with a hunched body but who still appeared to have an extremely long figure and limbs. Unlike the heavy black windbreaker he wore in the Northern Border, he was currently wearing a khaki autumn jacket. On his head was a light brown Gentleman's Hat, but owing to the heavy smell of alcohol, the hat sat askew, making him look rather comical.

He held a steel Wine Flask tightly in his left hand. When Fisher came in, he was observing the traces left by the demon ritual outside the window while simultaneously about to bring the Wine Flask to his lips to drink the alcohol inside, but the sound of the door opening behind him interrupted his action.

The next moment, he leaned straight back onto the wooden chair. The wooden chair let out a "creak" under the pressure of his lanky body, tilting backward slightly uncontrollably.

Taking advantage of the angle of the tilt, his head also tilted back bit by bit, revealing a face that was extremely pale with thick dark circles underneath his eyes. A small flush of tipsy redness bloomed on his cheeks.

It was exactly the Creator's Society's Death Minister, Holland.

He didn't have much spirit, but he still squeezed out a gaunt smile for Fisher,

"Hey, long time no see, Mr. Fisher."

Fisher glanced at him, then slowly walked to his side, pulling out the other empty chair to a certain distance. In passing, he opened the closed windows to let the air circulate; he was about to be smoked to death by the smell in the room.

"I didn't expect you to arrive this fast."

"The moment I received your message, I rushed over on the first instance... Plus, I wasn't in the West Continent at the time; instead, I was quite close to the Southern Continent, so rushing over took about exactly this much time."

Fisher shot him a glance. Four and a half years had passed, yet he still looked no different than when he was in the Northern Border, maintaining an appearance of being half-dead and half-alive. His mental state was clearly not quite normal either, but completely contrary to that was the strange feeling on his body of having lost his affinity with death.

He took another sip of wine, making Fisher unable to stop from asking,

"You weren't in the West Continent? Then how did your landlord contact you?"

"Landlord?"

Holland was slightly taken aback, and then he seemed to realize something. Thus, he smiled, nodded, and said,

"That landlord naturally has her methods of contacting me... Speaking of the matters in the phone call, regarding the information you told me, you didn't lie to me, right?"

"I indeed have some clues regarding your death. I wonder if you have heard of the name [Demon Dynasty]?"

Holland raised a hand and fumbled at the stubble on his chin that hadn't been groomed for a long time. He fully mobilized his alcohol-polluted brain, and after thinking for a moment, he suddenly smiled slightly. Taking a sip of wine, he said,

"Actually, I also know you didn't lie to me because before coming here, I had already told the Lord of Fate about this matter..."

"..."

Fisher's words paused for a moment; his train of thought was interrupted by his words.

In reality, Fisher didn't want this matter to pass through the Lord of Fate. It wasn't entirely because of his distrust of her caused by the colored glasses he used to have towards the Creator's Society either.

In the past, because of Pherone and Erwind, his impression of the Completion Handbooks and the Creator's Society was extremely poor. However, after returning to the past and learning about Chaos and those Transferred Persons, that feeling faded little by little.

He gradually realized that Karasawa Asuka, who created the Creator's Society, and those Transferred Persons were actually not at fault. If one truly had to blame something, he feared they could only blame Chaos, blame the Chaotic Knowledge in their minds—that was the true source of disaster.

But right now, the reason he didn't want the Death Minister to greet the Lord of Fate was entirely because the task he promised the Lord of Fate hadn't been completed yet.

He still wasn't sure of Karasawa Asuka's whereabouts. Based on the Source Magic Book left behind by the Mother Goddess, he could only roughly deduce that her level was extremely high, and her relationship with Renee's Previous Incarnation, the Mother Goddess, was pretty good.

Perhaps those Chaos-kin would know some clues. Coincidentally, he also planned to inquire about the secrets of magic advancement through the Chaos-kin later.

However now, since the Death Minister had already told the Lord of Fate this news and he still came anyway, it was already enough to indicate a part of her attitude.

Fisher thought for a moment, then looked at the Death Minister and asked in return,

"...What does she think?"

"What does she think about what? About the war with the Red Dragon Court, or about the probability of my death?"

"Both."

"Mm, in fact, the two don't conflict either. The Lord of Fate didn't previously anticipate that the Demon Dynasty would be connected to my death. It was only when you told me in the Northern Border last time that the Death Rune was crafted by the Demon God Agreas that I finally found roughly a little bit of a goal to strive toward. But the Lord of Fate knows very little about the Demon Dynasty. Generally speaking, for an immortal geezer like her who possesses a profound understanding of the Chaotic Knowledge of fate, there are very few secrets in the world to her. Yet, unfortunately, the Demon Dynasty is exactly one of them."

The Death Minister curled his lips and spread his hands, saying,

"Because of this, she didn't expect that Erwind would enter the Demon Dynasty, even poking a massively huge hole for us. According to her, since the Mythic War, there haven't been any existences who still remembered this group of 'scourges.' Thanks to Erwind, those Demons didn't consider ten thousand miles far and chased to kill her even if their true bodies couldn't leave..."

Fisher furrowed his brows a bit, then seemed to realize something and said,

"The Lord of Fate thinks that the group of demons hunted Erwind because of the Chaotic Knowledge from the Completion Handbook on her body? Just like how other Mythical Species treat Transferred Persons?"

"Probably so. I don't know either. That immortal geezer speaks very cryptically; every sentence she says is like a puzzle without an answer where you don't even know what she's talking about. When I'm with her, my desire for death also becomes absolutely unprecedentedly strong..."

"...It's impossible that it's for this reason."

Fisher shook his head and shared the information he had obtained with him.

"The Demons are supporters of Chaos. They are not the same concept as existences like Angels and Elves; the edicts of the several Demigods have absolutely no effect on them. There must be another reason why they chased after Erwind, even if it was a personal grudge sparked by her using Demon Gods for experiments... But I'm more inclined to believe that she obtained some secret from Agreas, and that secret is something Agreas doesn't want others to know."

"It looks like you indeed have a great understanding of the Demon Dynasty, as if you've lived there before. Fine, but Erwind has already been killed by you. Chatting about these Psychos with abnormal brains has no meaning anymore... What I mean is, the Lord of Fate isn't too sure about the matters of the Demon Dynasty either. She just thinks that she can let me come over and try. What I need is a solid confirmation from you."

"...Slumbering beneath the Demon Dynasty is the true body and Authority of the Goddess of Death, Hela. The reason the Demons formed is because of Chaos, and the reason the gods can tolerate the existence of Demons who believe in Chaos is that the Demon Dynasty is currently situated right above the Authority of Death, protecting it. I don't know how your immortality was formed, but if there's anything in this world that can let you die, I'm afraid it's only the Authority of Death."

Upon hearing this, Holland's eyes lit up slightly. He was just about to stand up, looking poised to strike, but halfway through, he suddenly became dispirited and listlessly sat back down.

"Sigh, I totally forgot, the Southern Continent is currently fighting a war. According to the Lord of Fate's deductions, the surface entrance of the Demon Dynasty is located somewhere further north; there are still several intact Dynasty Portals there. But right now, the Northern Dragon Court is so fierce. The Lord of Fate even suspected there's a fierce person like you taking part, otherwise, even combining the Crimson Dragonewt and the daughter of the God of Destruction wouldn't have returned in a crushing defeat... So, how do we get to the Demon Dynasty?"

"...Within the Northern Court, there are two Eighteenth Tier Demon Gods, namely Agreas and Barbatos. Mm, if the situation is worse, there might even be an Eighteenth to Nineteenth-Tier instigator. This is exactly the reason why I asked you to come over and help you search for death; I need the Death Completion Manual on your body to contend against them."

"Demon Gods..."

Upon hearing that there might be three Eighteenth Tier Demon Gods as enemies, Holland still lacked interest. He wasn't afraid of how fierce the enemies were at all; he even hoped the enemies were fierce, so fierce that they could beat him to death alive.

He merely felt distressed as to how they should successfully smoothly enter the Demon Abyss under the surveillance of three Demon Gods.

"This is troublesome. Ah, so there are two or three Demon Gods on Naris's side. No wonder the Red Dragon Court was beaten into scurrying off like fleeing rats... But the problem is, exactly what method did Naris use to make them obediently work for them? Eighteenth Tier... I'm afraid that even ten Narises tied together wouldn't be able to defeat a single Demon God, right?"

"...Does the Lord of Fate not know this?"

It must be said, Fisher right now truly doubted the Lord of Fate's abilities a little.

It was said that the current Lord of Fate was the only surviving First-Generation Transferred Person besides Karasawa Asuka. This meant that her completion handbook had never changed hands, and she herself was also a human from outside the world.

He didn't know whether it was because the impression Margaret left on him was simply too profound, causing him to subconsciously believe that the Lord of Fate probably also possessed abilities similar to hers. But this state of knowing nothing at all truly broadened Fisher's horizons.

However, the Death Minister's answer was also very frank. He quickly replied,

"Ha, of course she doesn't know. But it's not that she cannot know, but rather, she doesn't dare to know. Her condition has always been very... delicate. You should be able to imagine that an old monster like her who has lived for an unknown amount of time cherishes her life very much. Unluckily, much of the knowledge and abilities within the Completion Handbook are very dangerous.

"Once she utilizes those pieces of knowledge for an extended period, I'm truly terrified she'll turn into some indescribable monster. Actually, in my eyes, she is already only a step away from that outcome... I watched with my own eyes as she sliced off a portion of her own brain and body, then threw it away, all to forget the information she once gleaned from Fate. Another time, she accidentally cut the wrong spot while slicing her brain, and couldn't speak or walk for a very long time afterward..."

This is very reasonable.

For some reason, hearing him explain it this way, Fisher instantly understood.

No wonder this First-Generation Transferred Person could live for so long. This method left Fisher speechless.

With no other choice, he could only roughly explain the situation of the two Demon Gods to the Death Minister, including the fact that their purpose for working for Naris was to obtain a certain object from Raphaela related to the activation of the World-Ending Prophecy in order to liberate their Demon compatriots.

As for the method of entering the Demon Dynasty, Fisher actually did have an extra clue.

While speaking, Fisher slowly pulled out the Demi-Human Completion Handbook and opened it, taking out a scroll that had been stored inside for a very, very long time.

He still remembered that when he was in Saint-Nazareth, he had once researched Eliog and obtained a map related to the Demon Abyss from her.

He never had the chance to open and read it all this time, but looking at it now, it had a use.

Written on it in quaint script was,

"Submit to the Desire's Abyss"

But right as he was speaking and had just taken out this scroll, an extremely sharp and high-pitched voice suddenly came from the Death Minister's body.

That voice didn't sound like a human voice, nor did it match any animal Fisher had ever seen. It was just extremely ear-piercing and grating. Yet, he heard that voice suddenly interrupt Fisher's words, asking him,

"Where did you get your intel from?"

Eimhart, who was in his clothes, was startled by the voice and hastily shrank back. Fisher's movements also paused slightly as he looked at the Death Minister, whose face was similarly frozen in shock.

He then saw on the back of the hand holding the Wine Flask, a giant mouth glowing with a faint golden light had grown out of nowhere. It took up almost the majority of the area on the back of his hand, and the sharp voice from earlier came exactly from this mouth.

After freezing slightly, the Death Minister seemed to realize something. He spoke to the mouth emitting the golden light,

"Immortal geezer?"

The mouth opened and closed, then replied,

"...It's me."

It was the Lord of Fate.

"You were eavesdropping on our conversation?"

The mouth didn't reply to the Death Minister again. It merely continued asking Fisher,

"Where did you get your intel regarding the escape of the two Demon Gods from the Dynasty?"

"The instigator behind this matter."

"Your woman?"

That mouth spoke with a certainty as if possessing foresight, making Fisher unable to continue. He had no choice but to add a sentence,

"...One of them."

"Regardless of what, she must be lying to you. Or else, she is even lying to those two Demon Gods."

"What does that mean?"

"It means, those two Demon Gods never escaped from the Dynasty in the first place."

That mouth struggled a bit, then with a "pfft," it drilled out from the back of the Death Minister's hand, hollowing out the entirety of his palm holding the Wine Flask. The five bloodstained fingers and his Wine Flask fell to the ground one by one with a patter.

However, the Death Minister didn't feel a hint of pain. He merely looked speechlessly at the entirely completely empty palm and the golden mouth floating up and enveloped in golden light. Then, without saying a word, he reached his other hand under his jacket, pulled out a short sword, and slit his throat.

"Pfft."

His head fell to the side, and he went limp on the table. But death did not come. And so, a bizarre phenomenon reoccurred before Fisher's eyes: his severed fingers flew up from the ground one by one into mid-air, and the blood spraying from his neck slowly retracted back into the blood vessels. He would be completely healed very soon.

That mouth paid no attention to the grotesque phenomenon behind it, merely continuing to explain to Fisher,

"The demons' seal was personally crafted by the Mother Goddess using her Authority. This was also the only time she ever used her Authority during the Mythic War, and it was exactly this act that thoroughly incensed the other deities, to the point that they didn't hesitate to ultimately go to war against her in the Spirit World. However, it must be said, disregarding the risks brought by using a True God's power within the world, everything the Mother Goddess did was beneficial to the righteous gods. Because of the war among the Mythical Species, the demons' contamination on living beings reached an absolutely unprecedented degree...

"Those fortunate living beings who didn't participate in the war or weren't affected by it were targeted by the demons. The Mythical Species and Demigods were trapped in the whirlpool of war, barely able to fend for themselves; where would they have the time to deal with these demons who never participated in the war? Consequently, they began drawing out the Fallen Self-Nature of living beings utterly unrestrainedly, the majority of whom were humans. Drawing out the Fallen Self-Nature not only enticed living beings toward corruption and self-destruction, but more importantly, this process would breed the contamination of Chaos; this is the truly severe problem.

"But at the time, there was no faction that could free up its hands to deal with these demons. In the end, it was the Mother Goddess who couldn't bear it any longer. She violated the rule that deities cannot directly intervene in the world and used her Authority, locking the true bodies of the demons deep within the Dynasty. At the same time, the intervention of her Authority also caused a calamity the world had never seen before. The outer layer and the Crevice of the world both began to destabilize, making the first-generation Lord of Souls believe he saw an opportunity to enter the Spirit World, but in the end he..."

Fisher furrowed his brows, seemingly having understood a bit of the Lord of Fate's meaning.

"You mean, the Mother Goddess's seal can only be broken by power at the level of a True God? Without the intervention of a True God, it's impossible for them to be free, right? But I met face-to-face with one of the Demon Gods, Barbatos. His strength is absolutely at the Eighteenth Tier; this is undeniable."

"...The Mother Goddess's seal was cast upon the entirety of the demons, rather than sealing their individual true bodies. Right now, the true bodies of the two Demon Gods have left the Dynasty, but they haven't escaped the Mother Goddess's imprisonment. It's just that someone used a certain method to create a loophole, making them mistakenly believe that they have escaped the Mother Goddess's infinite imprisonment."

Fisher pondered over and over, exactly what method did Helaire use to let Barbatos and Agreas escape?

At her peak, Helaire only possessed the Nineteenth-Tier. She wasn't even a Demigod. A surviving Angel, where did she get the ability to break the Mother Goddess's seal?

But right in the next moment, Eimhart inside his clothes suddenly twitched, and simultaneously, an inspiration burst forth in Fisher's mind.

Fisher and Eimhart opened their mouths in unison, saying the answer,

"That Base!"

Yes, when in the Northern Border, when the Spirit World Contamination was about to descend upon the world using the body of the Phoenix, an existence stole it away. This forced the contamination to descend using Erwind's body, which allowed Fisher to kill her with the Death Rune, thwarting His descent, while simultaneously causing himself to be pursued by death.

At the time, Eimhart hadn't been pulled into Dream Magic. When he woke up, he told himself that it was Baimon who stole the Base. But because he was being pursued by death at the time, and moreover he didn't know Helaire yet, he didn't take it to heart, much less consider what she would do with the Base.

Looking at it now, the purpose of that Base, which was tainted with the aura of a True God, was glaringly obvious.

"Base?"

"It was the platform formed from the flesh and blood of the entire Phoenix race used to allow the Spirit World Contamination to descend. Back in the Northern Border, it was taken away by her."

"The entire Phoenix race... Then that makes sense. Even if their entire race was combined and supplemented by some aura of Spirit World Contamination, it still couldn't possibly be on par with the Mother Goddess's Authority. That power cannot equal a True God, but to let the true bodies of those two out is indeed possible."

Fisher already understood the Lord of Fate's meaning. His heartbeat quickened bit by bit, as if he had seized the flaw of those two seemingly invincible Eighteenth Tier Demon Gods.

"In other words, we can enter the Demon Dynasty and take away the Base interfering with the Mother Goddess's seal. When that happens, they will once again be imprisoned by the Mother Goddess's seal, right?"

"That's indeed the case, but I cannot determine the specific location to enter the Dynasty. Moreover, didn't you just say that aside from the two Demon Gods who were let out, there's also an instigator you are deeply involved with? Are you sure she won't throw a wrench in the works?"

Fisher remained silent for a moment, then slapped the scroll recording the location of the Demon Dynasty onto the table. Immediately after, he spoke with absolute resolve,

"...Even if she tries to stop me, I must still do this."

Of course, Eimhart knew who he was talking about. Just thinking of that smiling expression under the name "Baimon" scared him into hiding even deeper in Fisher's clothes, as if afraid of the cold.

The Great Sir Book Artifact has decided to follow the very brave Mr. Fischer Benavides and hold high the banner of "Resisting Baimon." Of course, the person carrying the banner absolutely couldn't be him.

This fellow Baimon eats people without spitting out the bones; it's only Fisher whom she would let chew twice, otherwise he would have long been eaten clean and dry down to the marrow.

However, he was unwilling to believe in such a terrifying thing like Baimon developing feelings for Fisher. He was more inclined to believe Fisher still held utilitarian value to Baimon, which was why temporarily camping out a bit was definitely the right move.

The Death Minister nearby had already successfully resurrected, his flesh and blood returning to their original places bit by bit. Subsequently, he lowered his head, picked up the dropped Wine Flask, and curled his lips while asking them,

"Can you not appear using this method every time, immortal geezer? Although I won't die, the feeling of my fate being parasitized and stolen is truly very unpleasant... Wait, where were you guys chatting to?"

Within that mouth, rows of sharp teeth rotated continuously. A small hole was drilled into every tooth, allowing bright red silk threads to pass through.

The silk threads constantly wove in and out of the bloody mouth, forming complex rope knots and a scattered layered feeling, whose specific meaning was unknown.

Hearing the Death Minister's question, all the rope knots within the "Lord of Fate's" mouth trembled. Following that, she spoke to Fisher,

"We... just finished talking about your matters. I was just about to ask about the Magic Lord's matters..."

Fisher was slightly taken aback, but the Lord of Fate's next sentence already faintly drifted out,

"I have a premonition that you already have a bit of a clue regarding the Magic Lord, am I right, Mr. Fisher?"

"It's even possible that you've already personally met her."

Chapter 572: Gate of Victory

When the Lord of Fate uttered these words, even Holland behind her—who had an absolute lack of interest in anything besides seeking his own death—turned his head to look at Fisher. It seemed he also held a certain degree of interest in that long-missing, legendary President of the Creator's Society.

Even though the Lord of Fate before his eyes didn't have a normal appearance at all—not even possessing anything more than a single mouth—Fisher still keenly picked up on the somewhat protruding excitement in her words.

The Lord of Fate was indeed very concerned about Karasawa Asuka. However, Fisher didn't know the story between them; they must have met a long time after he had left.

Since the Lord of Fate was truly worried about Karasawa Asuka, there was no need for Fisher to hide anything anymore. He prepared to tell her everything he knew.

"I have indeed met her. Previously, I was pursued by death and needed a Demigod profound in that path to help me. Therefore, I returned to the past. There, I met the Magic Lord who had just arrived in this world, which is Karasawa Asuka."

"Travel back to the past?! No... that's impossible..."

But contrary to Fisher's expectations, upon hearing that he went back to the past, the Lord of Fate's reaction was exceptionally agitated.

"How did you return to the past? Are you sure you are not lying?"

"No, I'm serious. Someone helped me shatter the shackles of fate and allowed me to return to the past. There, I borrowed the power of the Chain of Heaven to escape death."

"...If you truly met Asuka who had just transferred here, then you should have returned to the past ten thousand years ago. But how is that possible? How could you withstand the shattering of fate, unless you... unless you could endure the direct devastation of the Fate Authority, but this..."

"Endure the Fate Authority? What does that mean?"

Fisher seemed a bit confused. He had thought that with the help of True God-level chaos like Renee possessed, shattering fate to return to the past sounded very intimidating, but it should still be reasonable.

For some reason, the Lord of Fate's concern suddenly shifted onto him. She didn't seem to care at all about how Renee destroyed the rules of fate.

Behind her, the Death Minister, who had just taken a sip of alcohol and was now hugging his arms, spoke up,

"Ahem, this thing called fate sounds abstruse, but actually, its fundamental bottlenecks are only two: one is Time, and the other is Space. These two things determine the Dimension of fate and the development of all things. Therefore, fate is divided into past, present, and future... And if you truly shattered fate and returned to the past, it means that the Time and Space on your body would both undergo fundamental changes. Your fate would be brutally embedded into the overall fate, and fate would thus make corrections, making you a part of the entire fate.

"Therefore, your actions would form a closed loop, making your time travel an inevitability. Your actions in the past would all produce corresponding impacts. Thus, throughout this entire process, when you traveled back, you would directly face the True God-level Fate Authority... Even so, you still survived. You jumped around lively in the past like a completely unaffected person and expelled death. The series of chain reactions caused by your time travel also didn't take effect on you...

"Absolutely everything didn't change because of your time travel; instead, it formed a closed loop. This is not the rule by which the Fate Authority operates, because during the process of your intervention, the Authority would constantly resist the impact you bring. Unless... you were completely immune to the impact brought by this Authority, then the closed loop could form without a price... But how is that possible? That is a True God-level Authority. You should know that the reason True Gods can never intervene in the world no matter what is exactly because of their own Authorities. If you can be immune to this kind of impact, then you are simply... I really don't dare to imagine."

Although named the Death Minister, it sounded like Holland understood the matters of fate very well. Even after he said so much, the Lord of Fate beside him hadn't refuted him at all. She merely added a profound sentence to Fisher right after his words fell,

"You are very [special], Fisher."

"..."

Actually, this wasn't the first time Fisher had heard someone say he was special. The last time was Elf Tsuki, and he himself could also roughly realize it a little.

He didn't believe that Karasawa Asuka was truly deceiving others that each person could only read one Completion Handbook, like Erwind said. Therefore, it was truly because he was special that he could read the Life and Soul Completion Handbooks simultaneously and remain completely unharmed.

It was the same when facing Tao Gong in the Tree Continent previously. He took Renee's Sigil exploding head-on. Although it was very painful, compared to the fate of being "Reduced to Ashes and Smoke" that scared Renee terribly, this kind of pain probably couldn't be considered much.

There was also the time when Helaire was swallowed by the Sea of Chaos. He could even jump down and fish up the Helaire who was like a Candle in the Wind entirely intact...

Was he really that special?

But why?

Was it because the Demi-Human Completion Handbook was very special? Because that was special, it made him special?

Or was it because he was special that the Demi-Human Completion Handbook chose him?

Fisher narrowed his eyes, momentarily unsure of his own situation either. He could only look at the Death Minister and Lord of Fate beside him, then took out the Demi-Human Completion Handbook he carried.

"Perhaps it's because this Completion Handbook wasn't produced by your Creator's Society that I'm very special?"

"Pfft!"

The Death Minister and Lord of Fate looked simultaneously at the Completion Handbook he took out with a prank-like name written on it. After a long silence, the Death Minister laughed uncontrollably. Afterward, he awkwardly took a sip of wine to try and cover up his smile, but that smile was harder to suppress than an artillery cannon; instead, the corners of his mouth curled up higher and higher.

The Lord of Fate was experienced after all. Even upon seeing that handbook not produced by the Creator's Society, she remained calm. That single mouth examined the Demi-Human Completion Handbook for a long time before she shook her head,

"No, it's not it. The chaotic aura on this Completion Handbook isn't thick enough; there's absolutely no corresponding Chaotic Knowledge recorded inside. On the contrary, there's a strange scent that prevents me from seeing it clearly... It's like it's hiding."

The last sentence was very soft, seemingly as if the Lord of Fate wasn't sure either.

And Fisher also took back the Completion Handbook somewhat disappointedly and told the Lord of Fate,

"Asuka said the contributor who wrote this Completion Handbook is a Transferred Person from... a place called China. Have you met them?"

"...No, completely not. I don't have any impression at all."

"I see..."

Then, could it be that he was special himself?

But he was just an ordinary human. He had pretty good magic talent and could be considered an outstanding individual among the human race, but that was it.

He had a pretty good life. Although he was an orphan, he had a gentle and kind adoptive mother who cared for, nurtured, and educated him, allowing him to grow up strongly. He had many friends with deep ties, juniors who admired him, an idol and a teacher he looked up to... He also had a dazzlingly beautiful first love. Due to some unforeseen events and youthful ignorance, he was separated from her...

From a human's perspective, perhaps he really was very special; his life was very interesting. But looking at it from the macro perspective of the world, when talking about Mythical Species, True Gods, and Authorities, could an existence like him be considered very special?

But why would it be like this? Whether it was the Lord of Fate, Tsuki, or himself, everyone felt there was something wrong with his body.

"Clap, clap, clap!"

Fortunately, the Death Minister clapped his hands and quickly interrupted his train of thought. He glanced at the Lord of Fate next to him and said,

"Alright, stop thinking about you being special. Even if you are very special, we won't be able to figure it out anytime soon. The immortal geezer looked at your fate so many times, yet she only knew of your uniqueness after you told her you traveled back to the past just now. This indicates she absolutely doesn't have the capability to discover your specialness at all right now... Compared to this, weren't you guys just talking about the President? Let's continue. I still have to hurry to my death."

"..."

The Death Minister's words made sense. Fisher could only relate some anecdotes about his acquaintance with Karasawa Asuka to the Lord of Fate.

"So... you are the teacher she's always been waiting for..."

Just as the Lord of Fate finished her somewhat stunned words, the Death Minister laughed foolishly,

"Hey, it's surprisingly you who taught the President magic. Then the President is the Magic Lord, what are you? Magic Ancestor?"

The Lord of Fate kept her mouth open. As the rope knots swayed, her formless gaze was as terrifying as if it was carving out his flesh. However, he heard her say faintly,

"...Even without him teaching, with Asuka's talent, she could have grasped magic by herself."

"That is indeed the case."

Fisher acknowledged Karasawa Asuka's cheat-like magical talent. Him acting as her teacher merely Cast a Brick to Attract Jade. Otherwise, he wouldn't need to seek the Chaos-kin to pursue the mysteries of magic. Oh, how good it would be to be like her, rubbing out multi-ring magic by hand to violently screw Barbatos and Agreas over.

But the problem was, from Fisher's words, aside from learning more about Karasawa Asuka's past and knowing that she was also very clumsy and green when she first transferred over, the Lord of Fate obtained no clues whatsoever.

She slowly fell silent and didn't speak again for a long time. Only after quite a while did she say,

"If you met her ten thousand years ago, then she has waited for you fully for more than four thousand years. Her feelings for you turned into a long wait. She continuously fought against the chaos in her mind, maintaining her sanity, and guided and saved Transferred Persons who arrived in this world one after another, including me... All of us viewed her as a role model, a pillar, as if as long as she was there, we still had hope of returning home, and the confidence to fight against madness and collapse...

"But more than five thousand years ago, her power was also nearing its peak. All of her abilities started approaching a True God, and this didn't even account for the magic she used. She always hid her tracks and only communicated with a few friends... She thought she could wait for your return forever. Yet unfortunately, as her tier climbed to the apex, she unavoidably began gestating Authority and Rules within her body... This put her, who was constantly fighting against madness, in an increasingly dangerous situation. The world's repulsion against her also reached its peak. At the same time, a path that might lead home also opened before her...

"She felt absolutely unprecedented conflict and struggle. But she had no choice. The situation at the time was critical; she was forced to enter the Spirit World, truly entering the frontal vision of the deities, and set foot on the path home. The Mother Goddess within the Spirit World was her friend. Even with the Spirit World's contamination, with the Mother Goddess's help, logically speaking, the probability of her returning home should have been very high... But what followed was no news whatsoever from her. We had agreed that when she successfully crossed the Ultimate and left, she would reply to me. But I didn't receive anything..."

Fisher rubbed his chin and said with a frown,

"Is it possible that she has already left, but due to some unknown reasons, she is unable to reply to you?"

"...There's another matter that made me certain she hasn't left, but rather, some unforeseen event might have occurred. After she went missing, the Mother Goddess, who had peacefully observed this world for thousands of years, underwent a Drastic Change in Temperament. She began violently interfering with the world using Asuka's magic, to the point that she finally directly utilized her Authority to lock away the Demons... At that time, I expended a lot of effort to contact her, wanting to pursue Asuka's whereabouts, but she simply ignored me and didn't tell me anything..."

And Fisher could also roughly understand the situation at the time. Because once something happened to Karasawa Asuka, the Creator's Society, which viewed her as a pillar, would definitely experience unimaginable turmoil.

To put it nicely, under Karasawa Asuka's leadership, the members of the Creator's Society still retained a bit of humanity. To put it bluntly, without Karasawa Asuka, every single member was a monster carrying an unstable bomb on their back, and these bombs could even directly blow a Demigod to death.

Perhaps it was exactly to maintain the stability of the Society that the Lord of Fate went to disguise as Karasawa Asuka. Even so, Caleb Uz still went to the Dragon Court to attempt entering the Spirit World, and it still catalyzed Erwind's betrayal.

The Death Minister rubbed his chin, then spoke up,

"If you ask me, is it possible that the contamination that appeared in the Spirit World is the President? After all, from the sound of it, that contamination that appeared out of thin air seemed to have popped up five or six thousand years ago..."

"Absolutely impossible!"

The Lord of Fate said this while Gnashing One's Teeth, causing the sharp teeth to emit an ear-piercing friction sound within that singular oral cavity,

"That Spirit World Contamination appeared out of nowhere while Asuka was still in front of me preparing the various matters to go home. How could that thing be Asuka!?"

"...Regardless of what, regardless of where she is now and what her situation is, we are not sure, we can only say that everything is possible. She is also my student, of course I won't give up searching for her. I promised you I would find her, so I won't break my word. As it happens, I might attempt to contact the Chaos-kin in the Spirit World tonight; they might know some clues... But no matter what, the top priority right now remains those two Eighteenth Tier Demons."

Fisher felt the Lord of Fate's emotional fluctuations and hurriedly spoke to interrupt her words.

There were already too many matters right now... two Demons, the secret on Elizabeth's side, the World-Ending Prophecy, Karasawa Asuka's whereabouts, handling the relationships with the various ladies, the trade with Helaire and Tsuki...

Everything pressed down on Fisher's shoulders. Even if he needed to deal with them, he had to take them one by one.

He could only make a guarantee to the Lord of Fate first, telling her not to be so anxious,

"The intelligence you shared with me is extremely crucial. Later, if I get any news, I will also contact you immediately."

"That's right, I also think I should be allowed to go to my death first, and then you guys can busy yourselves with other things. Immortal geezer, what do you think?"

"..."

The teeth bitten together by that mouth slowly loosened bit by bit, revealing the strands of rope knots within her oral cavity once again. Only then did she say,

"You guys best remember..."

"Ding ding dang..."

Subsequently, this single mouth spoke no more words. The entire flesh and blood instantly turned into flying ash, disappearing on the spot.

The room quieted down once again. Fisher glanced at the Death Minister, only to see him shrug his shoulders with an expression of being accustomed to it. Fisher couldn't help but ask,

"Why does it feel like the Lord of Fate is not quite the same as the one you described and the one I imagined?"

"Oh, how are they not the same?"

"Didn't you say she likes to speak in riddles? Wasn't this actually quite straightforward?"

"Hehe, consider yourself lucky. The one that came this time was the [mouth], so she speaks very straightforwardly... Mm, but you noticed, the mouth's emotions are very unstable. She often gets anxious as she speaks, and when she gets really anxious, she likes to curse and spout profanities... This time it was because it involved the President's matters, so she didn't have a chance to display it. Wait for the future, there will be opportunities. If she doesn't scold your ancestors' graves until they smoke, count it as her loss."

The Death Minister sipped the scarce fluid in the Wine Flask; it seemed to be the last gulp. Afterward, he counted on his fingers and said,

"So, this is only a part of her, and there's a very large gap between this part and her other parts, as well as her main body. Moreover, she is an immortal geezer after all. Her capabilities are far scarier than you or I imagine; it just depends on whether she uses them or not. But according to my judgment, after the President left and the Creator's Society fell apart, she already started slacking off... Say, what's our arrangement next? Don't you have that scroll thing? How do we go to the Demon Dynasty?"

Fisher glanced at the scroll in his hand. Following that, he slowly opened it bit by bit, revealing a picture that looked exceptionally quaint and complex. Written on it was:

"Living beings have ten desires; the Dynasty has ten gates."

"Gluttony, Carnal Desire, Knowledge, Possession, Victory, Expression, Curiosity, Fame and Fortune, Indulgence, Power."

Picture after picture told the stories of individual locations, most of them distributed across various corners of the Southern Continent. But the most crucial part was that the method of opening every single gate was different. Fisher was also unclear as to exactly which gate was still intact, and which gate they could still go to...

From opposite him, the Death Minister looked at the scroll. He then extended a finger, pointing to the "Gate of Carnal Desire" within, and said,

"Hey, I just need to follow you to a gate, right? I don't know if it's an illusion, but I always feel this gate should be very easily to deal with for you..."

"..."

Fisher was too lazy to pay attention to him. He merely continued reading the meanings of these gates.

So it turned out that the Dynasty was divided into many regions. Every single region linked with one another, housing many different Demon-kin. And generally speaking, the demons residing in a region behind a certain gate shared similar dispositions and characteristics...

Fisher carefully looked at the demon names inscribed behind each gate, along with the descriptions and summoning methods related to them recorded beside.

For instance, Baimon lived behind the [Gate of Knowledge], Agreas resided behind the [Gate of Curiosity], and Barbatos resided behind the [Gate of Expression].

Carefully recalling Helaire's specific personality, Fisher also didn't know if corresponding the Demon Gods' personalities to these gates was accurate. After all, besides seeking amusement and horniness, that fellow didn't seem to have anything else.

Of course, people in the world commonly believed that the Demon God Baimon grasped many secret arts and knowledge. He had also heard Eliog say that she loved to bestow some baffling and unaccountable knowledge to humans; it could somewhat correspond in this aspect.

It's just he didn't know where Agreas's "Curiosity" and Barbatos's "Expression" were reflected.

Besides Helaire and these two Demon God enemies, there was another name on the scroll that instantly grabbed his sight.

He saw that behind the [Gate of Victory], taking the brunt was rows of scarlet narrative,

"Eliog."

"Duke, First Pillar behind the Gate of Victory."

"Greedy, manic, and restless. Loves violence, fond of war, appeals to Destruction."

What followed was the specific summon method for Eliog,

"Can be ignited by mixing fresh wild catnip with fragrant wood incense, placed around the venue; during which, slaughter ten types of various livestock."

"One hundred sacrificers, all equipped with heavy armor and weapons, shall perform a war dance to please her, in order to summon her body."

Next was another line of small text providing an annotation,

"During times of war, various nations have all used this method to summon her. The dancers stirred up inexplicable disputes, resulting in countless dead and injured."

"However, all received no response..."

Chapter 573: Pisces

Fisher had already roughly determined the locations of several main gates entering the dynasty. According to what Eimhart said, there were still some portals built by demons in this world that could also directly enter the dynasty, just like the one deep within the Serpent's Head Street of Saint-Nazareth. And it seemed that when Eimhart previously entered the Demon Dynasty and met Helaire, he relied on exactly this method.

But because he had lost many pages within the dynasty, he also didn't quite remember the specific situation.

However, he feared that even if he did remember, those portals probably mostly couldn't be used anymore, including the one he had previously used.

Were there any usable dynasty portals left in this world?

Fisher naturally believed there were. But the situation was urgent now; unless his luck was truly outrageously good enough to let him stumble upon one in the recent time, it was better not to try his luck using this method. Going honestly to find a main gate of the dynasty was better.

The ten gates each had their own entry methods. The content written on the scroll was very vague, for example, the entry method for the "Gate of Carnal Desire" was:

"Indulge in pleasure to the extreme, love flesh in an instant."

Ghost knew what kind of entry method this was. He couldn't possibly truly follow the Death Minister's wild guesses and honestly run over there to strip naked and host a silver party, right?

Moreover, the location of the Gate of Carnal Desire was at the northernmost part of the Southern Continent. Fisher didn't want to cross such a vast distance; if he was too far from the frontal battlefield near the Southern Branch Mountain Range, in case something happened at the front, he wouldn't be able to look after it in time.

After pondering back and forth, Fisher ultimately decided to enter the Demon Dynasty from the Gate of Victory.

Its entry method was: "Defeat the undeniable."

First of all, the distance of this gate from the Southern Branch Mountain Range wasn't far, roughly only a hundred kilometers or so. Plus, it wasn't a hundred kilometers north, but rather a hundred kilometers east. It was already outside the scope of the frontal war, but Fisher could also return quickly to coordinate with this side.

Secondly, according to what the scroll said, the region of the Demon Dynasty entered from the Gate of Victory was exactly where Eliog's true body slumbered.

After meeting several times in Saint-Nazareth, they had been separated for a long time. Regardless of what should be said, Fisher actually still quite missed that unexpectedly approachable Eliog who reeked of sulfur and loved to slack off and sleep (Actually, he quite missed all the ladies he had a relationship with, please take note).

Compared to a Demon God—except for the final moment when she descended during a Matter Of Life And Death to battle Erwind, where she fit this identity more—the rest of the time, she felt like a large, incomparably lazy, and Carefree and Casual cat to Fisher.

Even the summoning method surprisingly mixed in something like catnip. He also didn't know how the person who wrote this scroll formulated this summoning method.

In Saint-Nazareth, she gave up the chance to secure a sure kill on Erwind in order to save his life at the final critical juncture. Although after that, she threw the Death Rune along with the duty of hunting Erwind onto him, undoubtedly, Fisher remembered this debt of gratitude.

The final reason, or perhaps another unlikely hypothesis was: he wanted to try and get Eliog's help.

Even if it was true as the Lord of Fate said, and the two Demon Gods hadn't completely escaped from the Mother Goddess's seal, but after all, their true bodies could genuinely come out to operate, then Fisher still had to treat them as two substantial Eighteenth Tier opponents.

And on his side, besides himself—a Mythical Species—there wasn't a single Mythical assistant he could use. He needed an assistant to increase the probability of success for snatching the Base and restoring the seal.

Furthermore, he wasn't completely clear on Helaire's attitude right now. If Helaire was dead set on not wanting him to involve himself in the World-Ending Prophecy, then besides the two Demon Gods, Fisher would also have to face a Nineteenth-Tier Angel who he had an intimate relationship with. When that time came, Fisher's chances of winning would truly be even more infinitesimal.

Of course, saying all this now was still too early. It was just setting the underlying tone for the operation first.

Fisher told his opinion to the Death Minister. He had no objections to this... Or rather, to him, as long as it could let him go to his death, he didn't have any other requests.

And failure of the plan held no cost to him either; if it could let him die, he'd even be eager for it.

The key right now lay in Fisher having to hurry up. He didn't know when the World-Ending Prophecy would initiate. All he could do was try to draw all the danger upon himself and solve them entirely before the frontal war arrived, lest it harmed the two women of the Dragon Court...

Especially Raphaela.

He had to enter the Demon Dynasty to snatch the Base tampering with the Mother Goddess's seal before the Humans Allied Army of the Red Dragon Court and Green Dragon Court officially went to war.

The sky gradually darkened. Fisher brought the Death Minister back to the Dragon Court from the border defense line.

Originally, there was no need for this fellow to come, but because the wine in his Wine Flask was finished, it needed some replenishing.

Incidentally, only then did Fisher realize this fellow didn't eat or drink water. This process naturally also made him uncomfortable. Before arriving at death, he was No Different from an ordinary human; he would get tired, hungry, thirsty, and sleepy.

However, the moment he died, he would instantly recover to a normal, full state.

According to what he said, this was his "state at the moment he lost death." At that time, he wasn't hungry, thirsty, or tired. Thus, whenever he felt unwell, he would directly commit suicide to recover his state, just like how he was parasitized by the Lord of Fate just now.

Only alcohol and cigarettes were things he absolutely couldn't give up right now. These two things were temporarily ranked behind the importance of death by the Death Minister.

"Click..."

At this moment, in the wilderness of the Dragon Court at dusk, the Death Minister, who had already replenished plenty of fine wine, hunched his bizarrely tall body and followed behind Fisher, watching as he carried a large pile of oddly shaped materials, similar to crystals and spices.

He opened his jacket, pulled out two cigarettes from the inner lining that was packed full of them, and passed one to Fisher in passing, but he shook his head and politely declined.

With no other choice, he could only lower his head and light a cigarette with a match, holding it in his mouth and sucking on it. Concurrently, his expression also turned novelty, as he complained to Fisher,

"How rare, meeting a Naris gentleman who doesn't smoke... A person like you is as precious as someone not believing in the Mother Goddess in Kadu."

"I've given it up long ago."

In reality, Fisher's previous cigarette habit was entirely developed through doing research and writing articles; he liked to do this whenever his thoughts encountered a bottleneck. But he had been away from the Naris academic circle for a long time now, so naturally he didn't need this kind of thing anymore.

He didn't know how the Nari Royal Academy Research Institute was doing after he left. Roughly speaking, they must be a bit more comfortable.

Eimhart poked his head out from Fisher's embrace, looking at the Death Minister with dead-fish eyes and explaining,

"There's no way around it. How could cigarettes be as enticing as ladies? I see that he can't give up these Demi-human Girls... Ouch!"

Before he could finish speaking, he received a knock on the head from Fisher.

The Death Minister chuckled, taking a deep drag of his cigarette against the sea breeze. After calming down for two seconds, he suddenly said,

"Speaking of ladies... That young female Priest of an unknown Demi-human Race who made me wait here earlier likes you a lot."

The Death Minister was talking about Jasmine.

"..."

Fisher looked at him in silence, a hint of confusion in his eyes, but very soon, he heard him continue explaining,

"Her status in this godforsaken place shouldn't be ordinary, and moreover, it's wartime here right now; someone like her should be very busy. Yet after I said I came to find you, she still personally hurried over here to arrange a temporary place for me... Furthermore, she must have personally gone looking for you. You should know why she would personally go look for you so early at that time."

Because she wanted to see him...

These two students of his, one Karasawa and one Jasmine, were both like this, loving to do some actions that were Silent and Quiet yet incomparably warm.

Fisher didn't continue this topic. Instead, his earlier footsteps became a bit faster,

"...Hurry up, we have many things to get busy with."

"True, the aura of war is almost going to fill this place, letting out an uneasy restless sound like a boiling kettle. In the past over at my hometown, there would also be this kind of smell when nations launched campaigns against one another. Very soon, the aura of death will envelop the battlefield, snatching away countless lives."

The Death Minister was enveloped by the cigarette smoke he lit, appearing somewhat unclear amidst the gradually darkening curtain of night. But right at this moment, Fisher felt a slightly different chaotic aura on him compared to the Northern Border. He couldn't help but ask,

"You still read the Death Completion Manual?"

"Mm, just killing time, learned a little bit."

"I saw that you were also very familiar with the matters of destiny earlier. Did the Lord of Fate teach you?"

"Merely Influenced by Sight and Sound. When people get old, they like to Talk to Themselves. Especially for an existence like that immortal geezer who's neither human nor ghost, chatting with herself is a common occurrence, and they'll even argue. But to be honest, compared to the Death Completion Manual, I actually prefer the Destiny Completion Manual. Destiny might tell me when I'll be able to die, but the Death Completion Manual will only make me stay further and further away from fucking death... So throughout these years, I've always been praying for that immortal geezer to pass away so she can pass the Destiny Completion Manual to me."

"..."

"Let's not talk about this. Weren't you going to meet some Chaos-kin to ask about the President's whereabouts? Are these the required materials?"

"Mm."

Fisher glanced at the things in his hand and honestly wasn't too confident in his heart either.

Because the core spellcaster required in star magic needs to be female, and the Chaos-kin seemed to also be "Yin and Yang Reversal" similar to Trolls, so they also preferred human females...

Otherwise, for so many years, there wouldn't be only "Witches" and no "Demon Men."

But the method was universal after all. Even if this method couldn't form a Witch because he was male, it should still be able to attract the attention of the Chaos-kin, which was his objective.

He and the Death Minister quickly arrived at a place in the north of the Red Dragon Court near the Southern Branch Mountain Range. This place was relatively unpopulated and sufficiently high up. Even though the "stars" of the Spirit World didn't have much relation with the stars of reality, perhaps standing high up would let him be more conspicuous?

"Need help with anything?"

"Just take him and stay away from me temporarily."

He temporarily handed Eimhart to the Death Minister. However, because his body was entirely reeking of strong alcohol, Eimhart would rather fly himself than land on his body.

And the Death Minister also gained freedom, sitting on a tall tree, not even looking at Fisher, merely drinking heavily leisurely without much enthusiasm.

Facing the light breeze, Fisher took out the magical materials he brought one by one, manually ground them into powder, scattered them on the ground, and used a magic engraving method to write an approximately elliptical shape.

The Circle Head of this magic was the "∞" symbol representing the Spirit World.

The moon in the sky was already gradually approaching the zenith. As the moonlight grew brighter and brighter, the magic beneath Fisher's feet also began to grow profound.

That elliptical array originally resting on the flat surface of the rocks began gradually having volume in Fisher's vision, swallowing his body bit by bit like a rising water level. Fisher remained Motionless, sizing up his surroundings, and suddenly discovered that the space around him had already begun to distort...

No, or rather, it wasn't the space of reality that distorted, but the space of the Crevice that distorted.

He felt the Crevice, acting as the storage space for the collective subconscious, start to visually become thinner and thinner, thus allowing the scenery of the Spirit World beyond the Crevice to become a bit clearer... But only a bit. In Fisher's view, the Spirit World he saw seemed to be shrouded in a fog intermixing scarlet and purple.

But following closely, a tiny yet bright small dot started gradually approaching from the distant thick fog, resembling a shooting star, with the only difference being that past shooting stars streaked across the vault of heaven, while the star now was approaching Fisher.

As that star got closer and closer, in the next second, a giant palm resembling five pitch-black tentacles of unknown material pieced together slapped onto the edge of that fog with a "thud."

Fisher furrowed his brows, looked up, and only then discovered that right above the fog, there were so many "stars"... No, it should be eyes shaped like stars.

They all came from the same existence.

Now that they were close, Fisher finally realized that the "stars" that usually babbled in the Spirit World were actually a very small part of the Chaos-kin. Their true bodies were hidden in the dark shadows and appeared incomparably colossal.

And right now, when the magic was fully ignited, a Chaos-kin within the Spirit World truly answered his summons and appeared beside him.

Fisher took a deep breath. Following that, he seemed to hear strange sounds seemingly from Outer Space. The sound was blurry, like listening to someone on the shore talk while staying more than ten meters underwater. But fortunately, the words spoken by that Chaos-kin were directly conveyed into Fisher's soul, therefore there was no need for translation to directly understand its meaning.

Yet he heard that unknown Chaos-kin say,

"Scumbag..."

"..."

The wariness on Fisher's face turned into a blank stare. But when he looked around again, that incomparably giant palm had already vanished on the spot, leaving only countless starry compound eyes looking at Fisher.

From those bright eyes, Fisher didn't see any emotion, as if an audience with a malicious gaze was observing everything in this world with indifference from the Spirit World right now.

Fisher was Neither Agree Nor Disagree to its address, instead asking it in return,

"You know me?"

"...All of us... know you... You have... a very good relationship... with the Authority..."

"What Authority?"

"I can't... say... His honorific name..."

Although Fisher's guess was confirmed, and his intimate relationship with Renee truly would make the Chaos-kin know him, but the Authority it mentioned... If Fisher guessed correctly, it should be referring exactly to the "Infinity Authority" that Renee represented.

But this Chaos-kin said that the Infinity Authority belonged to a certain "He"...

What did this mean?

Wasn't the Infinity Authority owned by the deities themselves like the Mother Goddess?

Or was it because what this fellow said was too vague, thus producing an ambiguity?

Fisher suddenly grew curious about this, and hurriedly pressed on,

"Who does He refer to?"

"He..."

All the compound eyes of this Chaos-kin flickered for a moment before it said,

"I don't know..."

"You don't know?"

"I don't know."

"Then does He refer to the Mother Goddess?"

"I don't know."

"You..."

Fisher still wanted to ask more, but looking at those eyes coldly observing him within the blurry fog, before the question could exit his mouth, he seemingly foresaw that the other party would not answer him again.

Fortunately, he hadn't forgotten his objective of calling the Chaos-kin. Thus, changing the topic, he suddenly asked,

"How should I address you?"

"Zodiac... Pisces..."

Fisher's scalp tingled slightly because he still remembered the scroll recorded by the Phoenix he saw in the Northern Border.

One of the Phoenixes who fought head-on against the Chaos-kin recorded many of the Chaos-kin's traits and characteristics, which included records concerning the tier of Chaos-kin.

Chaos-kin had a total of five tiers, ranging from lowest to highest: Northern Sky Constellation, Northern Circumpolar Constellation, Southern Sky Constellation, Equatorial Constellation, and Zodiac Constellation. They respectively corresponded to the Fifteenth Tier to Nineteenth-Tier in reality.

But one had to know, because Chaos-kin didn't have bodies, they were forced to form a fleshly body when entering reality, thus suffering an attenuation in their tier. In other words, their true capabilities were higher than ordinary tiers.

And this Chaos-kin before his eyes happened to be one of the individuals with the highest tier and strongest power among the Chaos-kin.

Placed within the Spirit World, it was truly at the level of a Demigod.

"Hello, Pisces... It's very presumptuous of me to disturb you, but I have some questions I want answered. Yet there are rarely any existences in reality who can answer me, which is why I relied on the magic in the Mother Goddess's Source Magic Book to request your help."

"...Ask... scumbag..."

Speaking of which, was there really a need to repeatedly emphasize this address like this?

Fisher's smile was somewhat stiff, but he could only brace himself and continue speaking,

"I want to know if Origin Magic was truly taught to humans by the Mother Goddess as a proxy, and whether a portion of it was lost during the teaching process? I want to elevate the might of magic to the Mythical rank or above. Can you teach me the specific method?"

Pisces remained silent for a moment. Afterward, amidst Fisher's somewhat astonished gaze, countless strip-like tentacle hands abruptly extended from the greyish-purple fog nearby. They continuously churned within the fog, eventually gradually outlining a blurry shape.

That was the silhouette of a human female. And beside that female, hung a round-shaped existence resembling a full moon.

Upon seeing the silhouette of that human female, Fisher recognized that person's identity at first glance.

"Asuka..."

But Pisces ignored his speech. Instead, it answered Fisher's questions one by one,

"Yes... Yes... I can..."

Respectively corresponding to Fisher's three questions.

Chapter 574: Kill Her

Fisher didn't expect Pisces to directly outline Karasawa Asuka's image. Within that fog formed by churning tentacles, what stood before Fisher right now was exactly the silhouette of a figure as tall as Karasawa Asuka in his memory. Except for being unable to see her appearance and clothing clearly, it was just as if she was truly standing in front of Fisher.

But she didn't look at Fisher. Instead, holding a Walking Stick, she quietly gazed at the "moon"—the Mother Goddess herself—some distance away from her.

Regarding the three questions Fisher raised, Pisces gave affirmative answers to the first two. And this also verified that Origin Magic was indeed taught to humans by the Mother Goddess at Karasawa Asuka's behest. Moreover, there had been omissions during the transmission process, which was why magic in history showed signs of decline and primitiveness, and had to rely on humans themselves to restore it to its original form over a long period of time.

At this moment, Fisher, who originally set his mind on "Mythical Rank Magic," gradually had his heart occupied by her silhouette after seeing the young girl before him who was No Different from ten thousand years ago.

Yes, the Karasawa Asuka outlined by the Zodiac Pisces before his eyes was still as young as ten thousand years ago. It seemed that the time of this world completely wouldn't leave a single trace on these Transferred Persons.

In appearance, she was still a seventeen-year-old High School Girl about to reach adulthood. Yet for some reason, in Fisher's eyes, Karasawa Asuka's body had accumulated entirely too much flavor that shouldn't belong to a girl of this age.

Merely from this illusory shadow, Fisher nonetheless managed to sense boundless exhaustion and a bit of indescribable sorrow from her body.

Fisher didn't know what she had truly experienced during the four thousand years she was separated from him. And after that final "journey home," where did she go?

Thinking of this, Fisher couldn't help but ask Pisces again,

"This girl who proxy-taught the Mother Goddess's magic, Karasawa Asuka, do you know where she is now?"

"I don't know..."

"Didn't you see her?"

"Because of the contamination... I don't know where... she went..."

"...Then how exactly did that contamination form?"

"I don't know..."

Know Nothing at All. Fisher knew this powerful Chaos-kin could no longer give him answers. A feeling of disappointment inevitably bred within his heart. But just as he was about to switch topics and enter the topic of magic, Pisces suddenly spoke up again,

"But I... know she is still alive..."

Fisher's eyes lit up slightly, and he hastily raised his head to meet the compound eyes of Pisces. But Pisces remained certain of this answer, looking at Fisher Motionless.

"How do you know she is still alive?"

Hearing the follow-up question, Pisces didn't speak immediately. After brewing for quite a while, the tentacles in the surrounding fog started to whip rapidly again.

At the same time, tones mixed with something Fisher completely couldn't understand began to slowly ring out, just like the prelude to a song...

Following closely, Pisces spoke again. From the illusion, a bizarre yet extremely pleasant ballad, seemingly bursting from the depths of the soul, rang out...

Yet he heard him sing,

"A traveler thousands of miles away from home, a lonely and solitary audience; one bearing an endless wait, one seeking the meaning of existence."

"Two unequal existences, two equal souls, under the gaze of the night sky, forged a friendship they mutually cherished."

"With friendship as their witness, they gifted each other all of their most precious presents."

"He openly exposed the mysteries of his Authority to her, bestowing upon her the power of [Infinity]; she shared the profundities of her secret arts completely with Him, bestowing upon Him the method to interfere with the world."

"The cherished epic is recorded by the audience, yet the actors on stage are nowhere to be found, leaving behind only the gift boxes opened by one another..."

Within this bizarre singing, the meaning Pisces wanted to express became exceptionally clear. Fisher could even effortlessly follow that singing to see a story circulating through a period of years and the emotions within it.

The process of that massive amount of information flooding his head gave Fisher a slight headache, but it was also precisely this headache that made him suddenly remember something...

It felt like he had heard a ballad in the same format somewhere before, only compared to the one Pisces was singing before his eyes, that singing was even more intoxicating and more spectacular, like an ocean aiming to swallow Fisher's consciousness.

It seemed to be exactly when he broke through to the Mythical Rank; he had heard a similar singing back then.

But what that singing specifically represented, Fisher still couldn't figure out until now. Perhaps that singing was exactly the body of Chaos, resonating because of the Completion Handbooks on his body?

He pondered for a moment, then brought his thoughts back to the information Pisces provided him, asking in doubt,

"Are you saying... the gift the Mother Goddess gave Asuka, that power of the Infinity Authority, still exists until now, therefore, this proves she is still alive, right?"

"...Yes."

Fisher felt what Pisces said was reasonable. Because he still remembered when he was in the Northern Border, he had been reminded by Helaire to recite "Karasawa Asuka's" name to activate the power stored on the Ring he gave her.

At that time, the Dream Magic he engraved, which originally hadn't even reached the Mythical rank in terms of circles, instantly spiked in number of circles and quality to an immeasurable order of magnitude—that is, "Infinity."

The power of Infinity evidently came from the gift given to her by the Mother Goddess. And up until the Northern Border four and a half years ago, this power could still be used, which proved that Karasawa Asuka was still alive. She hadn't left this world, but was in a certain place in this world...

Fisher felt the most likely place was within the Spirit World.

"But I don't recommend you go looking for... her..."

Pisces suddenly spoke again. And Fisher furrowed his brows, asking,

"Why? Because it's very dangerous within the Spirit World right now, and my tier and strength are too low, so..."

"That's only... one of the... reasons..."

Pisces retracted the tentacles in the fog one by one, continuing to stare at Fisher with an indifferent gaze.

"She is no longer that child from back then... She and your... promise has changed... She has become... the appearance... she thinks is good... You are a scumbag... having many... partners... If she finds out... you will... hehe..."

Fisher didn't know what he was "hehe-ing" about. Even though all of his compound eyes still maintained an indifferent appearance, ultimately, one could hear a meaning of gloating from within them.

Wait...

What did it mean by the appearance she thinks is good?

Could it be...

Fisher suddenly recalled that in the past, she had expressed her admiration and envy towards Helaire more than once. But she didn't seem to have figured out what Helaire's true personality was specifically like, and Fisher also didn't know what kind of dazzling appearance Helaire had in her eyes.

But intuition told Fisher that whoever grew up taking that fellow Helaire as a role model and goal, that was most probably not a good thing.

"..."

Fisher remained silent for a moment, forcefully suppressing the urge to refute this Pisces's address towards him, and silently changed the topic,

"Then, what about magic? Specifically, what is the method to make a magic's might rival the Mythical rank?"

"Multi-Ring Prime Magic..."

"Dual Circle Head Magic, I know this. But currently we only know one such magic, and this magic can only rival the Fifteenth Tier. I need a more powerful Multi-Ring Magic, but I don't have enough time and capital to afford the risks of experimenting with new Multi-Ring Prime Magic."

Pisces still silently looked at Fisher, then continued,

"Circle Heads... under the Authority of the same Deity... can be stacked... But it requires... you to have the ability... to analyze... the Authority beneath the Circle Head..."

Pisces's words were intermittent, yet they were like an inspired light cascading down from above the Spirit World, instantly giving Fisher a feeling of being Empowered with Wisdom.

All the Rules of this world were born from the Authorities of several deities. Magic, which tampered with Reality using the World's Echo, also operated according to this principle. This was also the reason why magic required the Spell Ring Structure.

Therefore, the stability principle of Multi-Ring Prime Magic was based on these already-divided Authority delineations. If a Multi-Ring Prime Magic's area of effect consisted of Rules forged by different Authorities, then it would also produce the repulsion reactions of the corresponding Authorities.

However, although Fisher figured out the principle, he still had some doubts.

For example, earlier, he had clearly already stood on the shoulders of Mentor Helson and knew that the two Circle Heads [Thunder] and [Destruction] could be combined. Yet when he engraved the magic, he still encountered immense obstruction.

If it hadn't been within Dream Magic back then, where he could imagine magic out of thin air, perhaps if it truly had to be implemented practically, the Fisher of that time might not have necessarily been able to engrave it.

Therefore, even though he knew which Circle Head magics could be combined, Fisher still couldn't utilize it stably and efficiently. This had nothing to do with theoretical level in magic, and seemingly didn't have much connection to tier either.

Because Mentor Helson was unequivocally a zero-tier human, and an old man who had lived for over a century, yet he could nonetheless engrave such a Multi-Ring Prime Magic.

So, what exactly was the bottleneck that truly determined the engraving of Multi-Ring Prime Magic?

Secondly, Pisces said Fisher needed to have the capability to analyze which deity's Authority those Circle Heads specifically belonged to; Fisher also needed to know the answer to this point.

Thus, he expressed his confusion. Pisces fell silent for a moment, before graciously providing the answer once again. Astonishingly, the answer for both questions was the exact same,

"Chaos..."

Pisces's words were brief, but for Fisher, who had a profound understanding of magic theory, what he needed right now might merely be a tiny hint. And coincidentally, such a hint was already enough for Fisher to figure out many things.

Firstly, magic was the power of Chaos; Fisher knew this early on. But he had overlooked one point: chaos magic required the power of Chaos to drive it, and the more powerful the magic, the more powerful the Chaos power required.

Before the Fourteenth-Tier, the power of magic was supplied by the Soul. The Soul was also one of the powers of Chaos; Caleb Uz had explained this very clearly.

And this was also the reason why ordinary magic could only reach a maximum of the Fourteenth-Tier, because the limit of an ordinary Soul was the Fourteenth-Tier. Going one level higher was the Mythical rank of Body and Soul Unity.

By then, the method of utilizing the Soul would change, and the Soul would be forced to intermix with parts of the world's Rules. Judging the "amount of chaos" of the Soul alone, it actually didn't increase but instead decreased. Thus, it could no longer bear the burden of an even more powerful Mythical Rank Magic.

According to this theory, if one wished to utilize Multi-Ring Prime Magic above the Mythical rank, then one would need a Chaos power above the Mythical rank.

Back then, during the battle against Erwind in the dream world, his Soul had completely separated from his fleshly body, and his Soul was already approaching the Mythical rank, which was why he managed to use the "Killing Dragonspear" to heavily injure Erwind.

Well then, Fisher also knew the reason why Karasawa Asuka back then could instantly conjure Multi-Ring Prime Magic out of thin air—the amount of chaos on her body was too voluminous and abundant, to the point that at that moment, it had even surpassed the limits of the Mythic.

By the same logic, when Fisher possessed more chaos on his body, he would thus be able to effortlessly use Multi-Ring Prime Magic, as well as separate the deity Authorities underlying the Circle Heads.

"So, I need to contain more chaos. Is that right?"

"Yes..."

After going round and round to the end, he still needed to read more Completion Handbooks. Because only the Chaotic Knowledge within the Completion Handbooks could provide the chaos required for Mythical Rank Multi-Ring Prime Magic.

But exactly at this moment, Fisher suddenly discovered a blind spot.

If that was the case, then what about Mentor Helson?

He was just an ordinary human, and had absolutely no connection to things like chaos and Completion Handbooks whatsoever. So how did such a Mentor Helson engrave a Dual Circle Head Magic?

This doubt instantly popped out, rendering Fisher Unable to Understand Despite Much Thought.

However, Pisces had no way of knowing what was going on in his head. Upon seeing Fisher suddenly fall into silence, perhaps he thought Fisher was hesitating due to fearing the impact brought by chaos, so he abruptly asked Fisher,

"You want... to fight against... those Demons..."

"You know?"

"We... all know... your matters... scumbag..."

Fine, Pisces had already stated this right when they first met.

It seemed that ever since the Northern Border, Fisher could often see the "star"-like eyes of these folks from occasional glimpses of the Crevice perspective.

Could it be that many of them were frequently watching him, just like what Renee did in the Spirit World, presenting his actions like a live broadcast before their eyes?

Even now, Fisher didn't know whether they watched or didn't watch when he spent the night with the ladies.

Renee probably didn't dare to look, otherwise she wouldn't have been so shy over even holding hands and kissing. But this group of "audience" seemingly devoid of emotions wasn't necessarily the same.

Fisher felt they still had quite a lot of leisure to watch things like "stacking high."

But evidently, Pisces Stop After a Brief Attempt regarding the discussion of Fisher's private life. He didn't continue evaluating Fisher's romantic history, merely stating,

"Your... magic, even if it is... Multi-Ring... is still not enough to fight them..."

"...So?"

"We... can help you..."

Fisher froze slightly, meeting Pisces's numerous compound eyes again. He remained unperturbed, as if he wasn't proposing but stating a fact.

But Fisher sharply realized some other meanings beneath his words. He didn't answer, but instead asked in return,

"We?"

"We..."

"Are you referring to you, Pisces of the Zodiac, or all the Chaos-kin?"

"Most... of us..."

"Wait, how many Chaos-kin are there in total?"

"Zodiac... twelve; Equatorial... ten; Southern Sky... forty-two; Northern Circumpolar... five; Northern Sky... nineteen..."

Only now did Fisher realize the number of Chaos-kin was actually very large, totaling a full eighty-eight.

And the most terrifying part was, calculating based on the true level of the Spirit World, they had a full twelve Demigods, with the Pisces before him being one of them.

Just the five of them who came, and relatively weaker ones within their species at that, nearly leveled the Northern Border. If all of them were allowed to come, let alone Barbatos and Agreas, even if all the demons in the Demon Abyss were added up together, it probably wouldn't be enough for their twelve Demigods to fight.

Hearing Pisces indifferently stating the numbers one by one, a layer of cold sweat unconsciously began to pop out on Fisher's forehead.

If Ramastia congregating the Blessings of multiple deities still only created three Demigods, while the Sea of Souls in the Spirit World, acting as a derivative of a certain mysterious deity, could pop out a full twelve existences at the Demigod level on its own...

Then, what level of existence was the Master of the Sea of Souls, that deity himself who came from outside the world?

Thinking up to this point, Fisher didn't show any timidity. Instead, he asked,

"There is No Free Lunch. So, as remuneration for helping me, what do you guys want?"

"A Shelter..."

"A Shelter?"

"Yes..."

Pisces's tentacles flipped, gently resting on the position at the edge of the magic. That was where the Spirit World and the Crevice connected, only because of the star magic, the vision of the Crevice was hidden, thus allowing Fisher to vaguely see the Spirit World and Pisces's appearance.

"The contamination... is very dangerous... We are in great... pain, need... shelter..."

"..."

Fisher fell silent. The other party's request sounded very normal, because several millennia ago in the Northern Border, the Chaos-kin invading the Northern Border back then was also due to this very reason.

According to the Source Magic Book's descriptions and the current face-to-face conversation with Pisces, Fisher discovered this group of Chaos-kin actually counted as relatively friendly existences. Compared to doing anything, they preferred drifting silently outside the world to watch all the matters inside the world.

However, that scarlet contamination within the Spirit World made their living environment extremely perilous, leaving them with no choice but to flee into the inner world for shelter.

But the problem was, if they only wanted to enter the world for shelter, wouldn't letting them in be fine? Then why did the Phoenix wage war against them? Were they afraid these powerful Chaos-kin would snatch their territory? At that time, the Phoenix wasn't the overlord of the Northern Border either, and there was absolutely no such thing as territory...

Then, there had to be another reason that compelled them to refuse their entry.

"For letting you guys enter reality for shelter, what do I need to do?"

"Kill... that Dragon-kin..."

Pisces's compound eyes remained bright and exceptionally indifferent, just staring straight at Fisher, as if stating something couldn't be simpler.

Only to be specific, he added a description,

"Raphael... ael..."

"Kill... her... and that will do..."

Chapter 575: "Witch" Fisher

"Kill Raphaela?"

Fisher froze slightly upon hearing this. That chill that had faintly risen from the moment he learned of Pisces's identity only now finally seeped into his entire body from his heart.

But facing Fisher's question, Pisces's words remained intermittent yet exceptionally calm,

"Yes..."

"You all know my matters. Could it be you don't know that my fighting the demons is precisely to protect Raphaela? Using the goal I want to achieve as a bargaining chip to serve as an obstacle in front of that very goal, don't you think this is very ridiculous?"

"This is... not the same..."

"How is it not the same?"

"Because... you don't merely... only have Raphaela... And Raphaela... doesn't merely... only have her... self..."

Pisces's eyes were bright, his words sluggish,

"You cannot defeat... the Demons... Raphaela... Elizabeth... Valentiina... Alajina... all of them will die... You cannot defeat the demons... her Dragon Court... her mother... her people... will all die..."

Amidst the faint surging of the Spirit World's fog, a silhouette of Raphaela was similarly presented before Fisher. She curled her body up, terrified like an infant in swaddling clothes—terrified of the demons who had beaten her until she had no power to fight back a few years ago...

She was the leader of the Dragon Court; she was Fisher's lover. Therefore, she needed to feign composure and couldn't reveal her fragility and fear.

But in the eyes of this group of Chaos-kin eternally watching the world, the secrets within her heart were so glaringly obvious.

"You want to use that... chaos... to enhance... your own strength... But you take things too much for granted... The tiers of the world... are preordained... Every single... climb... is a violation of the Rules... thus one must also pay... an equivalent... price... Nonetheless, Adding Fuel To The Fire... exchanging yourself for another... hehe..."

"Would a selfish person... like you... care about this... We only need... one among your many ladies... and we will do our utmost... to help you fulfill your wish... We will... be at your disposal... There's no need to... sacrifice... yourself... She won't know it was you who sacrificed... her... She... will only... be robbed of her life... in a dream... a sweet dream... and will no longer be terrified..."

The current Fisher had already lingered before the door of chaos for a long time. He was just about to finish reading the final part of the Soul Completion Handbook's content, and this was also about to be the first Completion Handbook he completed reading.

But before that door, countless people, including himself, had already realized that using the power of chaos wouldn't have any good outcome. Once he continued further down, ending up dead and forever unable to meet the people he cared about could be considered a good end.

What he feared even more was that he would turn into a madman, turn into a monster, become unlike himself, betray Teresa's expectations, and turn into a scourge.

Yet Fisher nonetheless shook his head, merely replying to Pisces,

"Even so, if she is required as the price, I would rather I die or be swallowed by chaos."

Pisces remained Motionless, and only after a long time did he continue,

"As... you wish... But our... proposal... hasn't... been voided... You can still... call upon us... to continue this proposal... to kill her..."

Upon hearing this, Fisher furrowed his brows, unable to help but ask in doubt,

"Why do you guys need to kill Raphaela in order to enter the world? There's absolutely no corresponding logic to this... She is merely a Fourteenth-Tier Dragon-kin, what heaven-defying ability does she have to block you guys outside the Crevice?"

Pisces's compound eyes, bright as stars, shook slightly. Fisher seemingly recognized he was expressing a negation. Following closely, he said,

"Fafnir... Faf..."

"Fafnir the Dragon King?"

"Mm..."

"So, you mean, Raphaela is related to him?"

"Mm..."

"...Has that contamination already recovered to the point that even Renee can't suppress it?"

"Yes... and no..."

"What does this mean?"

"Let us take refuge... and I will tell you... the answer..."

"Didn't the Spirit World provide you guys with a safe shelter?"

"There is... but we... can't enter... the Angel's Shelter..."

The Angel's Shelter?

Could it be there were still living Angels inside?

Then were Mikhail, Gabriel, and Michael still alive?

"What did you mean by 'Yes and no' just now? Has Renee encountered some difficulties?"

"...No."

"Then what state is that contamination exactly in right now?"

"I don't know..."

Pisces's answers grew shorter and shorter. It seemed that after Fisher rejected his proposal, he became even more uninterested than his previous indifference, wearing a look of not wanting to speak anymore.

But fortunately, Fisher had already obtained a massive amount of extremely useful information from this Zodiac Chaos-kin, including the definite news that Karasawa Asuka was still alive, how Mythical Rank Magic should be engraved, and a tiny bit of news related to Raphaela.

If Fisher remembered correctly, he had learned in the past that the several Demigod children of Lamashtia each had their respective duties. They were respectively stationed at extremely important locations in the world—at least, this was the case when Fisher traveled to the past.

The Chain of Heaven was stationed at the Boundary of Matter, the World Tree was stationed at the Pillar inside the world, and Fafnir was stationed at the Crevice.

Although the three Demigods were all formed by being bestowed corresponding powers by the deities, the three Demigods each additionally obtained the power of a different deity.

For example, the Chain of Heaven obtained the Blessing of the God of Matter, Ouyun; the World Tree obtained the Blessing of the God of Destiny, Annebatos; and Fafnir obtained the Blessing of Dagon.

The Blessings obtained by the former two Demigods could both be seen from the Mythical Species they created—for instance, Angels proficient in forging Holy Artifacts, or Elves proficient in the power of destiny...

But only Fafnir's children, the Dragon-Man Species, weren't Mythical Species. The extra soul Dragon Horns growing on their bodies might look intimidating, but it probably wouldn't reach the manifestation of the Dragon King's Blessing. It was hard to say whether it actually had any relation to the Blessing the Dragon King received or not.

Therefore, what exact Blessing Fafnir himself received from Dagon was something Fisher still couldn't figure out even now.

It was just that at this moment, Fisher suddenly remembered a matter that seemed related to this.

He still remembered a long time ago in the Southern Continent, the first time he encountered Raphaela. After passing through Pherone City, engaging in a fierce battle with Pherone, and ultimately killing him to snatch the Soul Completion Handbook, the incarnation of Dagon had manifested before and told him "He owed him a favor."

For a long time, Fisher had always believed it was because he snatched the Soul Completion Handbook and stopped Pherone's atrocities that this deeply hidden "God of the Gate" showed Himself to thank him.

But now, after the conversation with Pisces, Fisher suddenly had another guess.

Could it be that Dagon was thanking him for saving Raphaela back then? After all, if it weren't for him, if she had truly been brought to Pherone by that Pherone City buyer Orn, with his degree of obsession towards soul experiments, what would have happened was truly hard to say.

And because Raphaela's death would produce consequences—as Pisces said, they Chaos-kin could enter reality because of it—and this was the true reason why Dagon said He owed him a favor?

Fisher didn't know if his guess was correct, but judging from the fact that no deity thanked him when he later took Erwind's Life Completion Manual, this guess, combined with Pisces's words, was still very convincing.

Speaking of which, did Dagon's favor count as returned? Back in the Northern Border, it seemed He didn't intervene much when fighting Erwind. Although Fisher knew this was because He was also cooperating with Renee in the Spirit World to stop the Spirit World Contamination from descending into reality, but probably a True God's favor shouldn't be as simple as just sending them back to reality, right?

Thinking about these random things, this meeting with the Chaos-kin was also nearing its end. Fisher had already obtained what he wanted.

He exchanged one final glance with Pisces, who remained incomparably indifferent before him. Although this Chaos-kin basically didn't say anything nice, including the slander in his address towards him and the proposal aiming to use Raphaela's life as a bargaining chip, Fisher could feel that none of Pisces's words or actions carried any emotion. He was purely stating his own needs and the benefits he could provide to Fisher.

This emotionless race, indifferent like an audience, was exactly the aggregate of Fisher's impressions from his first meeting with the Chaos-kin.

It wasn't a matter of liking or disliking. Fisher merely expressed his gratitude for him sharing so much intelligence with him,

"Thank you for telling me these... However, I'm still somewhat curious. Several millennia ago, how did five of you enter reality? And if it was for refuge, why did you wage war against the living beings of the Northern Border?"

Pisces's words remained In Perfect Order, answering Fisher's questions one by one,

"No need for thanks..."

"Fafnir... Faf... neglected his duties..."

"We are... also chaos..."

So that was how it was...

He had forgotten. Products hailing from the Sea of Souls also belonged to a type of chaos, and their destruction of reality's Rules was self-evident.

Not even mentioning those five from a millennium ago, just the Pisces before him entering reality, the destruction to reality's Rules would probably not be inferior to a nearly completed Completion Handbook. Aside from Raphaela being the main reason, this was also something Fisher had to consider.

But, what about himself?

He had entered the Mythical Rank through chaos and was still reading the Completion Handbooks. To this world, was he also gradually turning into an intolerable scourge?

Having obtained the answers, Fisher fell silent for a moment. Subsequently, he once again expressed his gratitude to Pisces. He was just about to leave, yet he felt one of his tentacles slowly reaching in his direction.

Clearly, everything before his eyes was illusory, merely the superficial appearance of the Spirit World seen through the star magic. But before the unknown magnitude of mysterious power contained by Pisces, all the blockades before his eyes started being forced to compress.

At this moment, Fisher felt the distance between Pisces and himself getting closer and closer, until that feeling reached its peak, yet there always remained an indescribable sense of separation in between.

His tentacle was slowly placed on Fisher's head—separated by the magic. At that instant, Fisher felt his Soul heat up slightly. The Soul linking every part of his body to his flesh started becoming lightweight, as if some power from the deep layer of the world was being remotely poured down.

He instantly felt that his originally very deformed Soul now became even more lightweight, brilliantly overflowing with abundant Mana. That extra Mana echoed the Pisces far away in the Spirit World under the illumination of the magic, transforming into a symbol of a twisted connection.

"Pisces..."

He...

No, it should be her female voice ringing out like a singing song within Fisher's heart, indifferently repeating her honorific name.

She was Pisces among the Chaos of Stars. Just like being driven by the Mother Goddesses several millennia ago, she chose Fisher.

And this kind of ability was generally only possessed by a certain type of Demi-human Race entirely unique to the West Continent.

Witch.

"You are not female... No way to... bestow you... my powerful... Trait... But the connection... can enhance... the Mana of your Soul... You... can use more powerful... magic... But if... you still cannot defeat them... contact us anytime... at night... if you... change... your mind..."

Fisher looked at the bright Mana Circuit on both his hands, suddenly not knowing what to say.

But Pisces already didn't want to speak more words with him anymore. The energy of the surrounding star magic grew dimmer and dimmer, and the fog in between that vaguely revealed the blurry images of the Spirit World and Pisces also became increasingly hazy, about to immediately reveal the colors of the reality's night.

At the instant before that magic was about to dissipate, Pisces's compound eyes faintly glowing with light remained indifferent. From the indifference floated over her farewell,

"Goodbye... Witch Fisher... Hehe..."

"..."

The fog abruptly dissipated, revealing Fisher standing dumbfounded on the spot.

Eimhart outside immediately flew over, looking at him worriedly and saying,

"Fisher! Are you alright? After that whatever ghost magic lit up just now it swallowed you in, and there were a lot of Spatial Turbulence around too; I even saw the light of the Crevice. And you were gone for so long right off the bat. Did you see that whatever Chaos... Hey, why does the Mana Circuit on your body look so weird?"

Sir Book Artifact was a knowledgeable and experienced existence after all. He recognized with one glance that the Mana on Fisher's body had a huge difference from before entering the magic. Originally he thought Fisher encountered some danger, for example being polluted by the consciousness and power of the Chaos-kin or something, but the more he looked, the more he felt the nature of the Mana currently on Fisher's body looked somewhat familiar.

The expression on his book cover paused slightly. He sized Fisher up and down for a cycle, then muttered,

"You haven't changed at all either. Your tool for committing crimes hasn't been confiscated. Don't tell me your Trait is something?"

Fisher grasped Eimhart, who was acting out, in his palm with a dark face and said,

"What do you mean I was gone for so long? Didn't I just go in for a dozen minutes?"

"Says who? Three hours have already passed!"

Upon hearing this, Fisher froze slightly. Hand raised his head to look, only to discover that the sky, which was only just dusk when they arrived, now had the moon at the zenith. Evidently, the truth aligned with what Eimhart said.

Were the time Rules in reality different from those in the Spirit World...

He let go of Eimhart, then turned his head to size up the surroundings for a cycle, yet he didn't see the Death Minister's silhouette, unable to help but ask,

"Where is that guy?"

"Oh, him. He randomly found a place to sleep after getting drunk. He didn't want to go into the Dragon Court anymore; there are too many people inside and he's not quite used to it... He said just call him when we're setting off and he will come meet up with you."

As he spoke, Eimhart flew back to the tree where the Death Minister was staying earlier. He flew over with his mouth holding a Wooden Whistle with immense disgust; that seemed to be the item for contacting the Death Minister.

Fisher reached his hand out to receive that Wooden Whistle which was almost polished smooth from being played with. There was a weird scent of fatty oil on it, so it was no wonder Eimhart was so disgusted by it.

He put the whistle into his pocket, then raised his head to glance at the increasingly bright moon in the sky. He turned his head and slowly set off towards the Dragon Court,

"Let's go."

"Oh right, did you meet a Chaos-kin inside? What did you learn from his mouth?"

"Learned quite a lot of content, I'll tell you when we go back."

"Heh, you'd better tell me now. I don't want to wait expectantly until we go back, only for me to be chased away by a red-scaled Dragon-kin pulling a stinky face before you've even spoken a single word."

"..."

Fisher couldn't help but chuckle as he glanced at Eimhart blabbering incessantly beside him. Right now, they were standing at the southernmost end of the Southern Branch Mountain Range, which was also a position that could overlook the Dragon Court.

At this moment, the Red Dragon Court was still brightly lit. But what attracted Fisher's attention the most was the foot of the mountain located where they stood right now.

There, teams of fully armed soldiers, also harboring unknowns towards the future, held torches in the deep of the night and began entering the Southern Branch Mountain Range, rushing to the frontline to welcome the impending Human Allied Army.

The army's numbers were large. The Southern Branch Mountain Range was a natural moat to the Human Allied Army, and it was equally so for the army of the Red Dragon Court in the rear. Therefore, they needed to cross the treacherous mountain range in batches to arrive at the frontline of the Southern Branch Mountain Range.

This also meant the time left for Fisher was becoming less and less.

Starting from tonight, he had to start fully mastering the remaining content of the Soul Completion Handbook, and then rush to the Demon Dynasty after mastering Mythical Rank Magic.

The dark and incomparably expansive Spirit World was currently left with a patch of extremely tranquil deathly stillness.

When the contamination hadn't arrived yet, the stars would watch the world day after day, but this process wasn't quiet. Just like the Pisces Fisher met just now, the Chaos-kin would use beautiful singing to record the stories that happened in reality.

Every Chaos-kin watched a different place, saw different characters and stories, and their singing styles and methods were also entirely different. Due to this, the Spirit World back then was full of rise and fall of pleasant and mysterious singing voices.

They sang to one another, lingering around that Authority who came from outside the world. They helped Him ponder day after day why He was born, why He came to this world, until one day, He met a Transferred Person bearing a lengthy wait.

But now, because of that terrifying contamination, the Chaos-kin were all hiding everywhere. Amidst their quiet observation, they no longer dared to sing, for fear of attracting the attention of that scarlet contamination.

At this moment, the star magic that temporarily linked the vision with reality within the Spirit World dissipated bit by bit. Amidst the boundless darkness, Pisces's bright compound eyes remained motionless, merely silently watching that dissipating magnificence.

"It's over..."

As Pisces's song-like voice rang out, beside her, within the darkness difficult to pierce with the naked eye, pairs of bright eyes flashing like stars lit up one after another.

Only when those eyes lit up could you vaguely see clearly that those giant eyes resembling stars were originally just a part of these Chaos-kin's massive bodies. The massive areas of shadows hidden within the darkness were their powerful true bodies...

At this moment, when the eyes of the other Chaos-kin beside her all lit up, this patch of darkness instantly looked like it was covered with galaxies of various colors, temporarily dispersing that heart-palpitating darkness a little.

This light illuminated some scenes nearby, revealing a stretch of dilapidated broken walls and ruins. Within those broken walls and ruins faintly flickered a certain high-dimensional power not belonging to this world, capable of effortlessly resisting and bearing attacks from Demigods and below.

It was just that these creations seemingly from a certain extremely glorious civilization were now broken and scattered. And due to the decay of lengthy years, their original glory was also hidden amidst this patch of deathly still darkness like weeds, transforming into the temporary hiding place of the Chaos-kin.

"He refused... Without Fafnir's Blessing, the Crevice is like a natural moat to us... we can't get in, can't escape... Otherwise, we can only listen to the newborn Authority's consciousness, and use her method..."

"No." "No." "No." "No."

After the voice of one of the Chaos-kin rang out, most of the other Chaos-kin all expressed a rejection to his proposal. It seemed that was absolutely unacceptable.

Without the restrictions of the realm boundaries, and because it was a conversation between Chaos-kin and Chaos-kin, they finally didn't need to pop out words one by one like when conversing with Fisher just now.

"Or, we escape towards the further [Outside] and leave through the [Ultimate]."

After quite a while, one of the Chaos-kin whose singing voice was more mournful and low pitched spoke up. But the Pisces who conversed with Fisher earlier shook her massive head, splashing obvious waves of light within the darkness, as she said,

"Scorpio, the Ultimate is closed. Like a cage, like iron walls. There's only the powerful outside sending inward, yet there has never been anyone who escaped outside... Even His Authority also once thought of passing through the Ultimate to leave, but ultimately still failed, and returned here..."

All the Chaos-kin—whether powerful like a Demigod, or slightly weaker at the Nineteenth-Tier or Eighteenth Tier—all fell silent. Seemingly they also understood the unfeasibility of this method.

It wasn't that they didn't know this matter; it was just that they truly couldn't endure it anymore. Perhaps there was also a bit of the thought of a Fish Dies Net Breaks and Giving Up on Oneself, which was why the Chaos-kin named "Scorpio" suggested this.

It was just that, after being silent for a long time, another Chaos-kin spoke up,

"There is one person who has escaped."

But very quickly, it was interrupted by Pisces again,

"And it's only her alone, Libra..."

"..."

"Let's wait some more..."

"Wait some more?"

"There will be an opportunity, I can feel it..."

"He won't give up that orphan of Fafnir... He is very greedy, but won't betray what he shouldn't fail, even if it requires him to die."

"No, it's another... opportunity."

"..."

No Chaos-kin answered Pisces's singing voice anymore. They all merely quietly looked towards the outer side of the broken walls and ruins, struggling, and gazing at everything in reality through the blockade of the Crevice.

Only amidst this silence, this patch of dark outer side was painted with a layer of extremely bright and terrifying moonlight at some unknown point in time.

That moonlight was like water; bright, pure white burst forth amidst the dark purple. Mixing together, that moonlight quickly illuminated the outer side of the broken walls and ruins where the Chaos-kin hid, illuminated the Sea of Souls outside, and illuminated everything spanning across this space further away that was not governed by Rules and had existed for an unknown length of years...

"Buzz, buzz, buzz..."

The terrifying scarlet fog in the distance retreated bit by bit. But these Chaos-kin hiding within the broken walls and ruins didn't feel safe in the slightest. Instead, they all closed their starry eyes, hiding their powerful bodies that were born from the Sea of Souls.

Simultaneously, they indifferently chanted the same words in unison,

"Mother Goddess bless us..."

"Mother Goddess bless us..."

"Mother Goddess bless us..."

Amidst that repeated chanting, that pure white yet profoundly purple moonlight slowly receded like tide water, melting this patch of heaven and earth back into deathly still darkness.

Within the darkness, those star-like eyes didn't open anymore. Only another segment of conversation was heard,

"It's becoming more and more frequent."

"...Let's wait a bit more, there will be an opportunity."

Pisces's compound eyes abruptly opened. The image of the Dragon Court army in reality marching amidst the Southern Branch Mountain Range while holding torches was terrifyingly presented from within them.

Chapter 576: Before That

The faint moonlight slanted, remotely echoing the candlelight inside a certain room within the Royal Court of the Prayer and Blessing Tower. Together, they laid out brightness, providing Illumination to the thick paper scrolls either spread open or stacked together on the office desk. Along with it, the face of the blue-haired girl who was solemnly staring at the paper scrolls also became exceptionally clear.

This girl was exactly the Whale-kin Jasmine, who had come to the Dragon Court for more than a few years.

"Ugh..."

On both sides of the girl's long blue hair, a pair of slender black ears flapped slightly. Stirring up a bit of cool breeze, yet it couldn't fan away the somewhat heavy exhaustion on her face.

As a Priest of the Red Dragon Court, she had many matters to handle, especially now that the war was approaching. Although there were many officials below like Mill helping out, many trivial yet crucial things required Jasmine to implement and supervise.

All these tasks would subsequently be handed over to the Bat-kin Patriarch Emre and his wife. They were also people Raphaela trusted deeply, having followed Raphaela to establish the New Dragon Court as early as five years ago.

Jasmine's learning speed was very fast. She had been here for barely a few months and had already completely mastered the Dragon Court language, with Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing completely unimpeded.

The work before her eyes was almost completed, and the time to dispatch troops was also approaching closer and closer. This inevitably made Jasmine feel somewhat unsure in her heart—although ever since Fisher returned, she and Raphaela hadn't met in private again, the Dragon Court's affairs were still exchanged through official documents, so Jasmine was incomparably clear about the subsequent arrangements of Raphaela and the Red Dragon Court.

Only abruptly, she recalled the war from two and a half years ago again. That maddening gale, that simply invincible enemy, that human general Barbatos.

Unlike Raphaela, Jasmine had stayed by Xuan Can's side since she was little. Even if Xuan Can couldn't be considered an excellent educator, and couldn't teach Jasmine profoundly yet simply about many things, staying under the subtle Influence by Sight and Sound of a Demigod, Jasmine still very clearly felt the heavenly disparity between her mother and other living beings.

Mythic.

She indeed knew of this concept. She knew Fisher had already reached the Mythic, yet she, this Whale-kin who had left the Ocean to protect him and prevent him from falling into the world-destroying vortex, was still unable to see the threshold of the Mythical Rank from start to finish.

She didn't have her mother's talent.

Then what talent did she actually have?

Could it be she had nothing at all?

Jasmine spaced out. Looking at the tea water in the wooden cup beside her that had already gone cold, she fell silent for a moment. She still moved back a little, lifting her overly broad chest away from the support of the desk surface, shaking with elasticity.

She was somewhat bewildered, blankly staring at the water source in that cup. Only after a long time did she softly speak up, calling out,

"Lord Ramastia..."

"..."

But unsurprisingly, Ramastia still didn't reply to her. Ever since several years ago, Lord Ramastia's consciousness no longer left the Ocean. If she wanted to contact Him again, Jasmine would probably have to return to the Deep Sea.

But in that case, Jasmine would definitely be discovered by Xuan Can, and then whether she could come back again would be hard to say.

However, according to Jasmine's state of Stopping to Make Progress like this, she'd probably be caught back by Xuan Can before that destruction arrived anyway...

"Ugh, what exactly should I do..."

"...What should you do about what?"

"What should I... eh, eh, eh?"

Jasmine rubbed her temples, subconsciously replying like this. But following immediately, she realized something and hastily looked towards the doorway, just so happening to see that figure fierce as fire revealed amidst the faint candlelight.

Yet at the doorway of her room, Raphaela was seen having changed into a set of black casual dress. Her claws were propped on the door frame, yet her entire person hadn't stepped into Jasmine's room, instead looking like she was waiting outside the door.

Jasmine hurriedly stood up, looking at Raphaela at the doorway Unbelievably.

Perhaps it was the crushing defeat left behind from the frontal confrontation earlier, perhaps it was the guilt of secretly rendezvous with Fisher and fearing being discovered, or perhaps there was a bit of joy from reuniting after a long time of not seeing each other?

Therefore at this moment, even though Jasmine was clearly in her own room, she appeared rather constrained,

"Ra... Raphaela, you've come?"

"...Mm. Can I come in, Jasmine?"

"Of course."

Raphaela smiled faintly, slowly walking into the room where Jasmine worked. Facing the night breeze from outside the window, her rose-colored long hair was also blown to her back by the gentle breeze, swaying slightly.

There were many unlit candles on the candlestick beside them. Raphaela noticed it and asked,

"Why didn't you light the lamps?"

"When in the sea, we don't need overly bright light. I'm already used to it like this..."

"Won't it be very dark like this?"

However, Raphaela extended her two fingers and placed them above those candles. With a slight rub, the heat bursting forth from them caused the candles to ignite, consecutively lighting up the other extinguished candles, slowly driving away the shadows within the room, and illuminating Jasmine's face not far away at this moment.

Jasmine cowered slightly, but following that light, the appearance of the Dragon-kin before her was also exceptionally clearly displayed before her.

Raphaela's appearance was just as bright and passionate as when they first met, as if aiming to illuminate everything in the room like those ignited candles.

Unlike Jasmine who was staring at Raphaela, the first thing the slowly approaching Raphaela saw was the various Dragon Court official documents laid out on her desk.

When she saw those official documents, Raphaela's advancing footsteps also stopped in place. She paused for a moment before continuing to speak about another matter,

"I brought Fisher to see my mother earlier."

Jasmine froze slightly upon hearing this. Following closely, she pursed her lips, yet didn't say any words, merely silently waiting for Raphaela's ensuing words.

And from the corner of her eyes, Raphaela saw Jasmine only remaining silent. There was no surprised expression in her jade-green eyes, merely continuing to say,

"Jasmine, you are someone from outside the Dragon Court. By right, everything here should have originally had nothing to do with you, but..."

"...Raphaela, are you chasing me away?"

Raphaela looked at Jasmine with a somewhat surprised expression, but following closely, she shook her head, smiling as she said,

"How could I? In my heart, you have always been my good friend. Furthermore, I meant to say, the Dragon Court's matters should have had nothing to do with you, but all these years you've constantly been helping me. Without your assistance, I wouldn't have reached today. I'm very grateful to you, and also very much respect your friendship... About Fisher's matter, I don't blame you, Jasmine.

"If there's anyone to blame, I can only blame him, blame him for being an amorous Nali Person. And blame me, blame me for lacking capability, lacking enough confidence to monopolize him. You told me a lot about your feelings with your teacher previously, of course I know the affection of him saving you from peril. I believe you can also understand the respect and tacit understanding between him and me... It's just, neither you nor I expected that the person we yearned for was the exact same person, thus creating the current awkward situation."

Jasmine also lowered her head somewhat ashamedly. The candlelight beside them flickered, casting a swaying shadow over both the other party's face and her own,

"Raphaela, I..."

"I brought Fisher to see my mother only because I didn't want myself or him to have any regrets. I wanted to tell him my feelings for him, and I also didn't want my Tail-Compatible Partner to merely be my Wishful Thinking, having to deceive even parents and ancestors. If possible, I even wanted to hold a wedding with him and Make our everything Public... But you also know, the current situation of the Dragon Court is no longer sufficient to allow me to do this. Barbatos and his army are about to march south. Two and a half years ago, his terrifying strength left a deep impression on me up until today. Frankly speaking, I also don't know how to deal with him..."

Raphaela raised her claw covered in scales. It was currently trembling slightly, as if her muscles were also recalling the agony of engaging in frontal combat with that terrifying enemy back then and being shattered instantly.

Even though under Jasmine's healing and the passage of time, Raphaela's injuries had now fully recovered, that terrifying strength had traveled along her muscles all the way down into her heart, rendering her shuddering just from recalling it.

Could it be that this rumored "Dragon Queen" was so cowardly as to be intimidated by a single enemy?

Actually it was not so. If she truly had her guts burst from fright, she wouldn't be Calm and Composed in front of the Dragon Court, her family, and Fisher, even if this Calm and Composed was merely her facade...

It was just that, that terrifying strength resembling a natural moat was undeniable. According to Fisher's words, she hadn't even seen the door to "Mythic" yet, but had to engage in frontal combat with an Eighteenth Tier existence among them. Such a disparity in strength, as long as it was a person, they would feel the disconnect and undeniable despair.

Demon...

So that was the legendary Demon.

Raphaela didn't know why Demons would collude with humans and that group of puppets. But there weren't that many whys on the battlefield. Since they were enemies, the only thing Raphaela could ponder about was how to defeat the other party.

Yet having pondered over a hundred times, there was not a single method. This was the source of Raphaela's feeling of powerlessness.

Jasmine noticed Raphaela's slightly trembling hand. She was also a personal experiencer of that war, and also the one who saved the heavily injured Raphaela. Of course she knew what kind of existence they were facing.

Once again, she recalled her own mother.

When she was young, her mother told her that when she had not yet reached the Mythical Rank, she once had a conflict with an Angel, a Mythical Species. They fought until the sky was dark and the earth was dim in the sea. Although in the end she sustained heavy injuries and lay at the bottom of the sea for a long time, she said she was exceptionally thrilled at that time. Even though she failed, she didn't feel frustrated in the slightest, even wanting to wait for her injuries to heal before charging to the Angel's lair to fight him again.

In the end, not long after her injuries healed, when she excitedly prepared to fight again, her father had already avenged her in advance, making her quite take it to heart.

Hence, even if her mother encountered an enemy a hundred times, a thousand times stronger than that Angel later on, she always felt it was never more gratifying than that battle at the bottom of the sea back then.

And what about herself?

Encountering that kind of Mythical Species, she only thought of running away!

Although looking at it from an after-the-fact perspective, escaping with the injured Raphaela was a wise move, and successfully running away was already A Stroke of Luck in Misfortune.

But Jasmine herself was clear: back then, it wasn't a decision made after rationally weighing the options, but an irresistible fear originating from the Soul.

At that time, she only thought of escaping, so scared she didn't even dare to take one look at the other party. Running away until even her brain went completely blank, remembering nothing, only remembering running wildly all the way.

It was simply a world of difference from her mother...

Jasmine also didn't know how to comfort Raphaela. She pursed her lips, merely saying,

"Those existences are Demon-kin, only I don't know why they escaped from the Demon Dynasty. But earlier, didn't Fisher say he had..."

As she spoke, Jasmine gradually hushed her voice, subsequently carefully glancing at Raphaela. Because by right, the matter of her secretly meeting with Fisher in private shouldn't be known to Raphaela. The part including Fisher saying he would handle the matter of those two Demons was also told to Jasmine during their private meeting; wouldn't saying it out loud like this expose everything?

However, upon hearing this, Raphaela merely glanced at Jasmine and didn't nitpick on the matter of the two secretly meeting.

Perhaps it was because of the commotion Jasmine made that she heard while pretending to sleep this morning, making her certain that even if the two met, they wouldn't do any bad things; or perhaps it was because Raphaela's feelings for Jasmine natively went deep enough. Now that the two were alone, she also wouldn't go and harshly criticize the sister who had gotten along with her for four and a half years.

Actually, if they truly were to count the time spent getting along, the time Jasmine spent staying by Raphaela's side was far longer than Fisher's.

It was just a pity that emotional matters couldn't be quantified by the length of time.

How many people, just because of that pitiful Fleeting Glimpse, would thereby become Unable to Eat or Sleep Peacefully, and an illusory shadow would reside in their hearts from then on; yet how many people, even if they spent day and night together with the person beside them, sharing the same pillow and sleeping together, instead each Harbored Dark Designs, each having their own thoughts.

Although the time spent getting along with Fisher was brief, it was truly too stunning. It could even be said that if Fisher didn't have that bad habit of having too many romantic attachments, Raphaela would even feel that no matter how long the passage used to record the feelings between them, it wouldn't be considered excessive.

She believed it was the same for Jasmine. Back when she initially left the Ocean and was unversed in the ways of the world, getting embroiled in a perilous situation where relatives were nearly killed and she had no one to turn to, Fisher who saved her from fire and water became an indispensable part of her.

Jasmine's words Came to An Abrupt End, yet Raphaela had already understood her meaning, and then shook her head saying,

"Of course I am willing to believe Fisher, even if he himself also feels his ability still cannot catch up to that Barbatos. He said, the other party doesn't only have one Demon akin to Barbatos; there is still another one there, meaning the Agreas who sent that human journalist over back then?"

"There's still... another one?"

"Mm. I don't even dare to imagine just how terrifying two Demons of that level of existence would truly be... I believe Fisher might already have a method to deal with them. After all, with a personality like his, if there wasn't a bit of a clue, he absolutely wouldn't utter words like going to resolve it..."

"Then what is Raphaela worried about?"

Raphaela hesitated for a moment, then turned her head to look at her,

"I'm worried about the method he's going to use."

"...Method?"

"Mm. Whenever I think of Fisher currently helping me, I sometimes have some nightmares, dreaming of some... dreams whose specific content I don't quite remember. I've forgotten what I saw, but I still remember my feelings in the dream—that unease and fear. I don't know if this is because of those powerful Demons or because of my suspicion towards him..."

Raphaela paused for a good few seconds, and subsequently finally supplemented her unfinished words,

"I believe in his feelings for you and me. Therefore, I suspect he might make inadvisable decisions to save us, resorting to taking Risks in Desperation using heterodox and incorrect methods. If it's like this, the price he will pay will be something I find hard to accept. Even if he truly defeats the demons in the end, I will also feel it isn't worth it for him."

"What method would he use... Raphaela, have you asked?"

"I asked, but it was all very vague. He merely said he will go to the Demon Dynasty, the lair of that group of Demons, the place that group of Demons escaped from. But I don't believe just relying on this method can avoid confronting them. After all, for that group of Demons to appear in the human Allied Army to serve Elizabeth is already very abnormal. Among this, there must definitely be other secrets we don't know about."

"Demon Dynasty..."

"Mm, I don't know where that place is either, but I heard Patriarch Emre and the others mention in the past that the Demons inhabit very deep underground."

"So, what does Raphaela want Fisher to do? Do you want him to give up on helping you? This is fundamentally impossible, and I also have no way of accepting it. If the war fails..."

"Of course he won't agree, Jasmine. In a few days, I will lead the army to the frontline, and he presumably will also set off. I still have matters at the frontline that need my attention, but you, Jasmine, I hope you can go to the Demon Dynasty together with him."

"Eh, me?"

Jasmine instantly became nervous. She looked towards Raphaela, deeply afraid this was her method of testing her, but lifting her eyes to look, she only saw Raphaela's turned profile.

Her back faced the candlelight; only her jade-green eyes emitted brightness,

"Mm, you."

Jasmine cowered slightly, whispering softly,

"I thought... Raphaela cared very much about me and..."

"Mm, care very much, oh."

"Then you still..."

"But there's no other way. I'm afraid this right here is my dead end."

Raphaela shook her head. Looking at the Dragon Court outside the window that seemed to have obtained a momentary tranquility Before The Storm, she spoke to Jasmine in a low voice,

"In this war, both you and I know the situation. Even without those two Demons, because of the defeat two and a half years ago, our power has greatly reduced, and in terms of troops, we are far inferior to the Pseudo-Court and humans, let alone they still have Naris backing them. Even if our abilities are far superior to the ordinary, we are nonetheless not a match in front of the Demons... Therefore, I must consider the outcome after failure.

"Back when I was defeated and retreated, many clansmen were Burdened With Families and Left Their Hometowns, retreating to this corner of land alongside me. If defeated in battle, I have no face to abandon them and Go Far Away with Fisher and my family. I will die here, buried here together with my soldiers. But you are different, Jasmine. You originally weren't a Demi-human of the Dragon Court; you can leave freely, which can also be considered a guarantee for me.

"Although I still Take it to Heart, compared to the likes of Elizabeth, I much prefer entrusting Fisher to you. I want you to follow him into the Demon Dynasty, to stop him when he is forced to make incorrect decisions because of me and the Dragon Court, to avoid making him pay the price. And then, even if it fails, you can also bring him and my mother to leave here..."

Jasmine pursed her lips. Feeling Raphaela's concession at this moment, yet she didn't feel any joy at all. She gritted her teeth, hesitated for a moment, then looked at the Ocean outside the Dragon Court, and subsequently said,

"I... I'll go beg my mother to let her come help us."

Raphaela merely quietly looked at her, subsequently shook her head, and said to her,

"You told me before about your promise with your mother... A powerhouse like her will of course feel compassion due to your identity, but that is with regard to your safety. Returning to seek your mother, besides never being able to return again, she will not agree to anything... Don't do foolish things, Jasmine."

Jasmine reached out and tightly pinched the hem of her Priest robe. It was just that right at this moment, she again quite hoped she possessed a power as mighty as her mother's.

She perhaps hoped Raphaela would get into a dispute with her over Fisher's matter like before, and didn't hope she would so calmly recite her posthumous explanations and arrangements to her like this. Like a destined slide, only able to helplessly watch it slide down and plunge into the abyss.

"Then it's settled, Jasmine. Remember the words I said; these matters are entrusted to you..."

Raphaela smiled faintly, subsequently turning sideways to look at her. Of course she also saw her hesitation and unwillingness. Hesitating for a moment, Raphaela still stepped forward and gently held Jasmine's hand, enveloping her slightly cool skin in fiery heat.

"Raphaela, perhaps there are still other ways. Fisher, he..."

"I also hope so... However, if I can survive, then you and Fisher will be in trouble."

"Raphaela, you know I..."

Raphaela gently squeezed Jasmine's hand, crushing her subsequent words back into her mouth. Following closely, only then did she finally say,

"...Thank you, Jasmine."

Chapter 577: Blank

"Will this method of yours actually work or not?"

Within Fisher's room, Eimhart, hovering in midair, stared with dead fish eyes at Fisher in front of the desk and questioned thusly.

"What do you mean, will it work or not?"

At this moment, Fisher in front of him was raising his left and right hands, respectively holding up a piece of paper fully engraved with various Circle Heads. Meanwhile, his other hand held the Soul Completion Handbook that Eimhart couldn't see. While reading the contents within the Completion Handbook, he concurrently researched the mysteries of the Circle Heads Pisces spoke of earlier.

"You are currently reading that kind of forbidden knowledge, right? Being half-hearted like this, won't you lose control like last time?"

"I won't. Doing it this way can also accelerate efficiency. Moreover, I actually didn't lose control last time; it was just the first time coming into contact with the knowledge of life, and it altered my form, that's all. I didn't lose my consciousness, and even conversed with the Erwind who was supposed to be dead."

"Erwind, that madman?"

"Mm."

Fisher no longer engaged in conversation with Eimhart, merely wholeheartedly placing his attention on the Completion Handbook.

The forbidden knowledge within flowed into his mind little by little as he read. Simultaneously, the Mana Circuit on his body lit up once again.

Unlike the omen of the Mana Circuit lighting up previously when his Mythical Rank hadn't achieved Body and Soul Unity yet, Fisher right now began emitting a kind of distorted fluorescence from his entire body from top to bottom. It looked as if he had small lightbulbs hidden inside his body, making Eimhart Click His Tongue in Wonder.

He quickly noticed that on Fisher's body, a patch of fluorescence was missing around the kidney area. It seemed it had been burst by a powerful force when transferring backward, hence there was a vacancy.

But judging from his life with Raphaela, he hadn't been affected by this in the slightest.

And Fisher already didn't have the time to pay attention to these changes on his body. His entire mind and body had already started wandering along with the contents of the Soul Completion Handbook.

"Souls do not perish. Within every thinking life bursts the fiery heat of the soul; they carry the entirety of the stories of a life, a nation, a civilization. But microscopically speaking, the souls of all lives are constantly alternating and replacing.

"You might not realize that the soul within your body once came from a certain dark satellite tens of thousands of light-years away. Your past life was killed by your compatriots during the process of Eating Raw Meat and Drinking Blood. In the next moment, you had everything washed away and were reincarnated into an air-conditioned hospital ward blowing warm air in London...

"This kind of transformation is formless outside the world. There exist entities secretly marking everything that even the deities of this world have completely failed to perceive. But within this world, tangible souls allow the rules governing their cyclic operation to manifest.

"After entering the Creator's Society, I once learned that many predecessors (including the President) had attempted to leave this world through the Spirit World. But without exception, they all failed. Thus, I began pondering whether their method was correct, and started having a kind of guess.

"In this world, even more powerful living beings are called Mythical Species. Their souls and flesh intertwine, possessing an extremely profound understanding of this world's rules. Biological Traits akin to 'Authority' in their early stages begin bursting forth within their bodies.

"But the Spirit World, this world that similarly possesses matter, isn't subjected to the restrictions of the rules of the deities of this world. There exist even deeper forces there dictating it, such as that powerful Master of the souls. I therefore guessed, if one uses a power more in line with the Spirit World's rules to traverse the Spirit World, would there be a greater possibility of leaving here?

"Without a doubt, the power of the soul is one of them. Therefore I wanted to try making the soul become sufficiently powerful—powerful enough to discard one's own flesh. Perhaps this way one could pass through the Ultimate and leave this world. However, once there is no supply from the fleshly body, the test on the soul's power becomes extremely crucial.

"To increase the power of the soul, there have always been and only been two ways. One is to start from others, plundering the soul power they possess. The other path is to start from oneself, through training it, allowing its quality to become higher and stronger. However, the progress of the second path will unavoidably become extremely slow. Here, I will provide a shortcut I discovered to help you enhance your soul faster..."

Fisher's gaze landed here and on the contents left behind subsequently. Then he murmured,

"Past lives..."

Yes, Caleb Uz's shortcut was extremely crude, truly worthy of the title "Chaos."

He proposed that since all souls had undergone countless reincarnations and condensations, there must certainly be many races in the universe that realized the existence of the soul. Just like Ramastia and other deities of this world, even if they didn't realize souls had a Master, this didn't hinder those civilizations from training the soul just like the Magicians within this world did.

When a life reincarnated, its originally powerful soul would be restored to the most primitive appearance of a certain life, and no one knew where that greater or lesser amount of energy went. But through Caleb Uz's method, he could use a method that crushed this soul rule to restore all those dissipated soul energies from every past life to enhance his own soul.

But this process would also bring an unusually powerful impact to the user's sanity. The person using this method would instantly experience everything from thousands and tens of thousands of years. Everything he held fast to would become Insignificant under such a terrifying impact, because every one of your past lives would each have what they held fast to.

If the goals and everything of this current life were found somewhat lacking in comparison, then everything currently persisted in would Vanish into Nothingness, replaced by the goal valued most after comparison.

Therefore, if one wanted to use this method, it was best to absorb the energy life by life. Only this way would there be enough buffer time to adjust one's rationality.

Caleb Uz had also attempted using this method. He also didn't dare to restore the memories and power of all his past lives at once, thus barely restoring several lives to absorb the power. Even so, he was still frightened by the alien planet scenes seen in his past lives.

But fortunately, among Caleb Uz's past lives, there was a powerful race named [Wendigo] (content translated by the Completion Handbook on the notes). They looked like upright starfish, capable of not only surviving directly in the universe, but also absorbing the power of stars to train their souls.

They established quite a few colonies in the universe, and Caleb Uz inherited the soul power of that Wendigo, greatly enhancing his power in terms of the soul.

That method of rapidly increasing power made Caleb Uz both rejoice and fear, deeply afraid such a method would enrage the Master of the souls. But after observing for half a year and seeing nothing happen, only then did Caleb Uz Boldly and Without Worry begin absorbing the power of his past lives one by one to dilute the risk.

Fisher narrowed his eyes, clearly developing a bit of interest in this method.

Such a method capable of rapidly enhancing power was undoubtedly what he needed right now to fight against those two Eighteenth Tier Demons. Let alone saying that even just one more life's worth could add a few more points of insurance to his current plan.

He looked at his palm, where the deformed soul seemed Eager to Try. Subsequently, he turned his head to look at the specific method recorded above the book.

Pray to the deity from outside the world, let Him respond to your past, but you cannot recite His full honorific name. You can only use the few appellations He left behind to pry open your past lives.

At this moment, Fisher, whose gaze completely melted into that Completion Handbook, didn't realize that a tiny bit of blue-gold light, scattering like a rainbow, seemed to flash across his eyes, reflecting the text on the Completion Handbook like a mirror reflection.

Beside him, the Sleepy-Eyed Eimhart didn't realize Fisher's abnormality at this moment; he merely subconsciously felt a bit of familiar chill.

But in the depths of Fisher's heart, that address had already slowly unfurled.

【Ocean】

In Caleb Uz's annotations, there was still a very long segment of recitation following this. But for some reason, when Fisher silently recited this word in his heart, an indescribable feeling abruptly bloomed open by his side.

His vision instantly turned white, as if amidst the emptiness, terrifying waves were faintly overturning towards him who was so miniscule.

Even having already entered the Mythic, at that instant, a difficult-to-conceal panic still filled his heart.

He blankly felt that terrifying sensation approaching his face. Right when he had made ample preparations to welcome the arrival of that terrifying sensation, in the next moment, he instead only felt as if the position of his lips was touched by something soft and tender...

Fisher's stiff body froze for a moment. His brain, filled with Chaotic Knowledge, also instantly turned blank.

Just now...

Did something just cop a feel on him?

But that feeling Came and Went in a Hurry after all. Fisher even suspected if this was a hallucination produced from him reading the Completion Handbook.

Right while he was pondering this matter, the feeling of falling and tracing back described by Caleb Uz quickly transmitted before his eyes.

At that instant, he seemed to feel the past lining up into a long corridor before his eyes. Just like within the Dream Magic in the Northern Border, every hour and every moment experienced by the soul contained within his body began presenting themselves like gorgeous, three-dimensional walls.

He saw how he transmigrated to the Southern Continent, saw his actions in the past, saw every night he spent tenderly with every lady, and saw his acquaintance and mutual understanding with every lady.

And everything from even earlier, everything of everything. He returned to that neither big nor small church school, seeing that gentle and kind nun.

"Teresa..."

The years reversed on her face, turning her green and inexperienced, and turning himself young, until he became an infant requiring others' care for eating, drinking, and excreting.

Himself and her went from familiar to strangers bit by bit, until one sunny afternoon, she sent him in a wooden Basket out that main gate from the church school...

Fisher's breathing became hurried bit by bit. It seemed at this moment, how he became an orphan, where exactly his biological parents from Kadu and Naris went, and for what reason they had to abandon him, were all about to be revealed before him.

He watched Teresa go from picking him up to placing him down, subsequently retreating behind the door, leaving only that infant in swaddling clothes lying within the wooden Basket.

Subsequently, he abruptly saw a pair of hands extending from the edge of his perspective. Those hands were slender yet rough, looking like a woman's hands. The nails on the hands were untrimmed, appearing long and sharp.

Was this his mother?

But it didn't feel like it at all, because the way she carried his basket was a bit... mm, unrestrained.

She also didn't even spare him a glance, like just tossing a piece of cargo at the door of the church school and being done with it.

Could it be his parents didn't pick him up here, but in some other place, and it was merely this kind-hearted person who brought him here?

Fisher's doubt had just arisen when the woman carrying him beside him raised her hand in reversed time, aiming it at his face in swaddling clothes.

From the gap of her sleeve, Fisher clearly saw a healed yet still hideous-looking scar on her arm. In appearance, it looked like a severed crab, probably left behind from a very, very long time ago...

This scar...

Following closely, he seemed to hear that woman's voice. She was like a madwoman, her voice blurred and indistinct, yet she spoke in a language Fisher had never heard before but with Perfect Pronunciation and Cadence and Modulation,

"%￥@!#"

What language was this?

She should be a human, right? But the language she spoke was neither Southern Continent language nor Northern Border language, much less West Continent language...

Who exactly was this woman...

Following closely, his vision abruptly turned white, time reversing back into a patch of blankness. It was as if his life started from the exact instant that bizarre woman's voice rang out!

Amidst the endless falling of the soul, at this moment, the feeling of entering the memories of past lives described by Caleb Uz was not felt by Fisher at all. He only felt emptiness and blankness; nothing existed.

No biological parents resulting from the union of Naris and Kadu. No matter of being abandoned and then picked up by a kind-hearted person and sent to the church school. No past lives, not even a single life.

Yes, Fisher saw nothing, absorbed no power whatsoever. Except for the sharp nails on that woman's hand, that bizarre language, and that bizarre scar shaped like a crab Baring its Fangs and Brandishing its Claws...

In reality, Fisher's eyes suddenly turned red. He painfully clutched his head, extracting himself from that sensation of endless emptiness somewhat Unbelievably.

Caleb Uz exacted from his past lives, thus becoming filled with the memories of his past lives and possessing an extremely inflated sense of madness; whereas Fisher was exactly the opposite. He saw nothing, only feeling endless blankness and emptiness. Such a feeling would similarly spawn madness and agony, making him unable to help but hold his head and press it against the desk surface, his entire body from top to bottom emitting an even brighter fluorescence.

"Fisher! Fisher! Are you alright?"

What transmitted beside his ear was not Eimhart's shouts. Perhaps he had shouted earlier, but Fisher was indulging in exploring the past and past lives, hence didn't hear it.

Right now, what he heard was Raphaela's anxious voice.

He vacuously snapped out of that endless sense of emptiness and the shocking feeling of having no past lives. The scattered blue-gold glints in his eyes faded bit by bit, subsequently turning his head to look at Raphaela who was looking at him with extreme worry by his side.

"Rapha... ela?"

Raphaela panted. Seeing Fisher snap back to reality, she finally let out a huge sigh of relief, gladly hugging Fisher into the bosom of her casual dress with one pull,

"What exactly happened to you? Don't scare me..."

"I... I'm fine, just pondering some questions."

"You're lying! What kind of questions you're pondering would make you use your head to smash the desk! You... what exactly are you doing? What exactly is the method you spoke of to defeat the demons? I don't believe those demons are so powerful yet you can defeat them so Very Easily!"

After the worry passed, only then did Raphaela remember to be angry. She hastily cupped Fisher's head to make him step back slightly, following closely questioning him who was Dizzy and Confused like this.

Eimhart at the side couldn't watch any longer and hastily flew over to advise Raphaela saying,

"Hey hey, he's also doing this for your sake, rest assured. I'm here watching over him, he won't have any..."

"You go to the side! I didn't ask you!"

"Oh..."

The current Raphaela was like a fire-breathing tyrannosaurus. Even though she was only at the Fourteenth-Tier, the impact force she dealt to Eimhart was still not to be underestimated.

He had just wanted to explain, but halfway flying over, he was scared into wilting by Raphaela's words, shrinking his head and flying back onto the bed to play dead.

The One Who Tied the Bell Must Untie It. Better let Fisher do it personally.

Fisher blinked. He smiled bitterly, left with no choice but to personally repeat what Eimhart meant just now again. He said,

"I'm truly fine, merely researching magic. It's very normal for a few problems to appear when researching magic. Let alone it's such dangerous magic, wouldn't you say..."

As Fisher spoke, he abruptly felt the soul within his body bizarrely fill up with a bit of plump and abundant feeling. It was extremely similar to the feeling described in Caleb Uz's handbook of obtaining the soul power of past lives.

But he clearly didn't have any past lives! What exactly was this power...

Yet in the next moment, on his lips that possessed Mythical Rank intensity, there appeared out of thin air a pink strawberry mark as if it had been forcefully sucked by some woman. Displayed before Raphaela, it made her, who was worrying for Fisher, freeze slightly.

Following closely, she sneered and replied,

"Yeah, it's indeed very dangerous. Otherwise, why would your lips be sucked like this..."

"..."

Chapter 578: Ready to Set Off

Suddenly, the obvious mark by Fisher's lips was like a spark igniting a powder keg, completely igniting this fire dragon Raphaela.

She and Fisher had been intimate so many times already, and of course he had left similar irregular pink marks on her body before. Therefore, Raphaela recognized what the thing by his lips was almost at a single glance.

Could it be left behind by that woman called "Renee"?

She had just returned from Jasmine's place, and that little lass evidently couldn't have made such an unrestrained mark. And that whatever "Renee" seemed to be a Witch—it would make sense for her to have some mysterious and secretive methods.

Thus, the greatest suspicion in Raphaela's heart naturally fell onto the Miss Witch whom she had barely met and who Came and Went without a trace.

Even though Eimhart had made multiple explanations beside them, perhaps from her perspective, this Book Artifact and Fisher were naturally Acting in Collusion, frequently doing things like deceiving her or providing cover. Thus, Eimhart's cover was also declared a failure, leaving him with no choice but to aggrievedly lie on the desk beside them and play dead to avoid the flames of war.

But Eimhart's grievance was secondary. When discussing grievances, there were few people in this world who could be more aggrieved than Fisher currently in the room.

He swore to the Mother Goddess, he really was merely researching magic while concurrently reading the Soul Completion Handbook earlier. Afterwards, seeing the shortcut to enhance soul power researched by Caleb Uz, he also wanted to give it a try. Who knew it would cause a huge bunch of massive problems that left Fisher puzzled and confused too, including but not limited to his blank past lives, that soul power that came from nowhere Bafflingly And Unaccountably, the identity of the mysterious woman who placed him at the church school's entrance...

Fine if these incomprehensible things left Fisher totally baffled, but his lips also Bafflingly And Unaccountably sustained a bit of a "scar," most likely left behind while researching that whatever method. In short, it absolutely wasn't left by some lady; it was just comparatively similar to a strawberry in shape and appearance...

However, he also remembered when silently reciting the name of that "Ocean," he indeed had the sensation of being copped a feel. Could it be it was left behind at that time?

Fisher also wasn't clear. The absolute top priority right now was of course coaxing Raphaela. And as for coaxing her, Fisher also had a set of physical methods of his own, that's all.

The moon was bright and the stars were sparse. The candlelight inside Fisher's room gradually extinguished, leaving the blurry moonlight outside to pave the floor like water, illuminating Fisher's thoughts that were like a sage's.

Inside the room was quiet. Only Raphaela, with a rosy complexion and a layer of fine, dense hot sweat on her forehead, lay upon Fisher's chest panting slightly, exhaling a bit of fragrant hot breath.

On her body, her pressed-down Scales swayed slightly. Wisps of docile Steam invisible to the naked eye continuously arose from them, dyeing the blanket and her skin slightly damp, sticking to her rose-colored long hair, making her comfortably narrow her eyes and hug the person beside her a bit tighter.

"Feeling any better?"

From the side, Fisher's inquiry arrived. Keeping one eye closed, Raphaela lifted the other eye to glance at him, denying,

"Not at all..."

"Not at all?"

Behind her, the slender tail leaking out from between the scattered blankets delightfully patted the bed surface, subsequently nodding her head.

Fisher looked down at her puzzledly, only to find she just so happened to also lazily lift her head slightly to look at him.

Meeting Fisher's gaze, Raphaela imperceptibly puffed out her cheeks slightly. Her tail swept the bed surface repeatedly, while her jade-green eyes continuously circled around the extremely conspicuous hickey beside the other party's lips.

Subsequently, amidst Fisher's slightly surprised expression, she leaned her head over somewhat, ruthlessly biting down a kiss on the other side of his lips, exactly one on each side with the previously left mark.

"Mwah!"

She kissed down extremely forcefully onto Fisher's lips, and Fisher remained Motionless, letting her do as she pleased. Only after several tens of seconds passed did she back away a bit of distance while panting, narrowing her eyes to look at the place she had just plowed.

In the end, no matter how much dead strength she exerted, she was unable to leave a strawberry hickey similar to the one just now beside Fisher's Mythical Rank lips.

Raphaela propped up her body. Her slightly puffed cheeks grew rounder and rounder, and her continuously sweeping tail behind her also swayed displeasedly like the tail of a rattlesnake, making Fisher unable to help but chuckle.

Before she opened her Bloody Gaping Mouth deciding to use her sharp dragon fangs to gnaw on him, Fisher gently pressed her head down, hugging her anew into his embrace.

She struggled slightly, and after failing to break free, she languidly searched for another comfortable spot inside his embrace anew to lie down, staring at him deathly with her jade-green eyes, staring until he had no choice but to explain,

"This is not a hickey, merely a mark left behind while researching magic."

"Hehe..."

Raphaela ignored his explanation, merely taking a bite down onto his abdominal muscles, like scratching an itch, yet expressing the situation of "explanation invalidated."

But Fisher himself also felt it was like this. If there really was some lady who possessed such remarkable abilities, he would probably still feel a bit of a guilty conscience, but since there wasn't, then there wasn't; how could he explain it...

However, Raphaela seemingly didn't think it was some unwarranted lady anymore either. Instead she said,

"You absolutely weren't researching magic just now. Researching magic wouldn't result in you using your head to smash the desk, looking so in pain either... What exactly were you doing just now? Is it related to the method to defeat the demons?"

"...No."

Fisher's palm wrapped around Raphaela's delicate body, passing straight down through her waterfall-like supple rose-colored long hair, letting them run through his fingertips.

Raphaela's body shuddered, yet she didn't let the perfunctory Fisher off,

"...You're lying."

"What am I lying about? Didn't I already tell you the method? Those demons didn't break free from the Mother Goddess's seal. It merely requires me to enter the Demon Dynasty to reactivate their seal."

"It's that simple?"

"It's that simple."

Fisher smiled, but a few thoughts flashed across his eyes.

He just abruptly recalled the contents he saw earlier. His soul didn't have a past, nor past lives. This completely didn't conform to the knowledge about the soul provided by Caleb Uz.

What exactly was going on here? Why did his perspective Come to an Abrupt End the instant he saw that bizarre woman?

This meant he very likely completely didn't have true biological parents in the strict sense. He might have been created by some existence, for example, that woman he saw.

Or perhaps, this was the true origin of Gui mentioning earlier that he was very "special"?

Then, why was his distinctiveness bestowed upon him? Who exactly was that mysterious woman? Was it truly her who created him? And if it was her, then what exact motive did she have?

Even Fisher himself didn't expect that when he learned he had no past lives, a feeling of terror would be generated from the bottom of his heart.

If he had no past lives and was artificially created, then could the people he met and the things he experienced have been arranged? Was he walking inside someone's plan and calculations?

He even feared everything he possessed right now was fake, feared everything he had experienced was artificially arranged. Or perhaps, as long as it was a soul yearning for freedom, it would produce this kind of fear.

It was just a pity Fisher wasn't a Transferred Person from another world. He didn't know the story of "The Truman Show," yet he could empathize with the protagonist Truman's identical state of mind.

"Raphaela, do you believe in things like destiny?"

Amidst the silence, he looked towards Raphaela who was lying on his body feeling somewhat sleepy. She opened one of her comfortably narrowed eyes to look at Fisher, tilted her head slightly and replied,

"Destiny... you mean, Destined?"

"Somewhat similar, but the destiny I speak of might be an existence with consciousness like a deity... A long time ago, I read a play of Naris. It was about an extremely skilled puppeteer who created a Lifelike puppet with consciousness, named 'Duke'. He didn't tell the puppet he was a puppet, letting him believe he was a living, breathing person. Thus, Duke wandered around within Saint-Nazareth and got to know quite a few people, including a hardworking peasant girl who washed clothes... Duke fell in love with this laundress at first sight."

Fisher recalled the story of that play, and while stroking Raphaela's shoulder, he said,

"Just like any adventure story, one day, an unruly rich young master took a fancy to that laundress and wanted to forcefully occupy her. The girl was unwilling, but had no means to resist that young master, thus left with no choice but to wash her face with tears every day.

"Upon learning of this matter, Duke discussed it with other people he knew, wanting to find evidence of the rich young master's daily unruly behavior, sue that rich young master in the Golden Palace court, and save the laundress. Beneath the cheerful story, he experienced hardships and obstacles all the way. With the help of many discussing people, he finally found criminal evidence of that young master, sued him in court, and ultimately achieved victory...

"Right as it was naturally progressing towards a beautiful ending, when Duke defeated the villain and was preparing to enjoy the peak of life and the climax of the play, music abruptly rang out around the court. That puppeteer walked out accompanied by the song... It turned out everything was a part of the puppeteer's play. That rich young master, that laundress, those friends who helped Duke, they were all the puppeteer's actors. They bowed towards the other real audiences, leaving only Duke dumbfounded on the spot, blankly feeling the audiences' mocking gazes..."

In the Nari Language, the name "Duke" was actually a homophone for "joke," and this was also where the connotation of this story lay.

Raphaela opened all of her eyes. She pondered for a moment and said,

"...When we Dragon-kin are born, the elders will follow the soul's guidance to give every Dragon-kin a name. Names normally have special meanings, representing the future destiny of that Dragon-kin."

"Then 'Raphaela', what meaning does this name have in destiny?"

"...It means 'gentle and virtuous'."

"For real?"

Fisher surprisingly shot a glance at Raphaela in his embrace who was yawning. That surprised look made Raphaela freeze slightly, subsequently taking a bite down on his chest, muttering concurrently,

"What, am I not gentle?"

"..."

If you release the dragon fangs biting on my body right now, I might really feel so.

However, perhaps even Raphaela herself felt that using "gentle and virtuous" to describe herself was truly not too fitting. Thus in the next moment, she gently released Fisher's skin and said,

"So, I've never staunchly believed in destiny. So-called destiny is bound to time and circumstance... Perhaps there indeed are certain moments we don't know about where we will usher in an inevitable ending, but before that, we definitely made countless choices ourselves that allowed the ending to fall upon that moment. Perhaps I once also had the opportunity to truly become the gentle 'Raphaela', but the moment I decided to step out of the tribe, decided to be with you, yet decided to separate from you temporarily, everything predestined by destiny had Gone Separate Ways from me..."

Listening to Raphaela's words, Fisher also thought of the Phoenixes' interpretation of destiny, and thought of the choices they made.

This made his heart feel slightly more at ease. Perhaps his destiny had once been forged within his blank past lives, but from birth until now, every decision he made originated from the bottom of his heart and was decided by himself.

Even if his actions were consequently calculated by some truly powerful existence (like that woman with the strange scar on her hand), he still should do so.

"...I understand, Raphaela. I plan to set off for the Demon Dynasty tomorrow. You must be careful when leading the army. Do not initiate combat. You all are not a match for those two demons. Only by sealing them back into the Dynasty anew will the Dragon Court have a sliver of survival."

While Raphaela was advising, when he uttered this sentence, her tail unnaturally raised up instead.

She was originally worried Fisher would do some erroneous, foolish things because of her and the Dragon Court. Now this was great; her own speech just now instead helped him make up his mind?

"Smack, smack..."

Her tail swayed restlessly, hitting Fisher's thigh, causing him to look at Raphaela puzzledly,

"What are you doing?"

"...Nothing. If it's like this, tomorrow I plan to have Jasmine go with you together."

Fisher froze slightly. The first thought in his mind was: There's still such a good thing?

Could it truly be a Gift of Fate, allowing him to unwittingly dissolve the conflict between them?

If that was the case, whether this thing called destiny was good or bad was worth deliberating slightly...

But seeing Fisher's expression of "an unexpected joy," Raphaela dangerously narrowed her eyes, using her tail like a needle to poke him all over, saying concurrently,

"Heh, merely because Jasmine has nothing to do here temporarily. Having her around can also help you out. Moreover, I can also know the specific situation inside the Dynasty through Jasmine to arrange strategic deployments. In such an urgent situation, if you dare to secretly do any bad things behind my back..."

"...That friend and I going together is enough. Jasmine staying by your side, both you and she will be safer."

"..."

Raphaela, however, didn't utter a sound anymore. She merely closed her eyes comfortably, lying prostrately on his body Motionless, preparing to rest.

Inside the room gradually grew quiet, gradually falling into deep sleep.

It was just that no one anticipated, the Sea of Souls within the Spirit World seemed to produce a bit of wonderful connection with Raphaela at this moment, firmly locking onto her lower abdomen...

Chapter 579: Paramour

The next morning, when the sky was just showing the First Light Of Dawn, Fisher got up from the warm bed of gentleness beside him. He looked at the misty weather outside this morning, pondered for a moment, and still silently picked up his clothes thrown to the side, putting them on piece by piece.

Raphaela beside him slept very lightly, but she came back early yesterday. Counting the time, even though she woke up early now, the sleep she got was still much longer than when she was working previously.

And this also meant her preparations at the Dragon Court frontline were basically complete. She was only waiting to ride out on horseback and rush to the battlefield at any time.

Right now, feeling Fisher beside her silently changing clothes and preparing to leave the bed, Raphaela's claw gently extended out from within the blankets. She silently grabbed the clothes he had just changed into, pulling out strands of irregular wrinkles.

Fisher turned his head to look over, and saw a pair of already open jade-colored eyes.

She didn't say anything, merely maintaining this action. But Fisher felt the thoughts entrusted in her heart at this moment: She didn't want him to leave.

It seemed after last night, this red-colored Dragon-kin who had already grown into the Dragon Court Queen within a few years still remained full of attachment towards him. While this made Fisher's heart soften and spawn a sense of reluctance to part, that determination swearing to protect her well also grew even firmer.

"I will return very soon..."

"..."

He similarly extended his hand and gently grasped Raphaela's warm palm, speaking in a low voice like this. However, she still remained silent, merely hiding half of her head in the soft pillow. Using her cheek she rubbed against the fabric, concurrently rubbing the rose-colored long hair also spread over it onto her cheek.

Fisher smiled. He extended his hand to stroke the smooth Scales on her bare back, subsequently continuing in a low voice,

"I'm setting off."

"...Let Jasmine go with you together. She is already waiting for you."

This time, Raphaela finally opened her mouth somewhat hazily, but her words left Fisher somewhat surprised,

"...You already saw her yesterday. I thought you were only going to personally tell her after today."

"You know I don't drag my feet when doing things. Since I said it in the morning, naturally I would go see her."

Fisher smiled bitterly, not daring to ask about the situation when they met either. But looking at the current appearance, even if this conflict was temporarily unresolved, they still hadn't reached the point of quarreling anew yet.

He didn't know whether he should be thankful to those two demons for providing enough oppressive external circumstances for Fisher, which only then allowed the internal conflicts to obtain a portion of diversion.

But since Raphaela had already spoken to this extent, Fisher also had no reason not to bring Jasmine along. Viewed purely from the level of assistance, he was even prepared to bring along the Death Minister, an undying human who hadn't even finished reading the Death Completion Manual and whose strength whether it reached the fifth-tier was unknown. For an existence like Jasmine who possessed a full Fourteenth-Tier, in terms of assistance she would certainly be much more useful than the Death Minister.

When Fisher got up again this time, Raphaela's claw gently pulling on his clothes finally let go, allowing him to get up smoothly.

Turning his head back, she also didn't show any signs of getting up. She merely silently looked at Fisher like this, seeing him off.

Fisher could no longer hold back and turned his head, kissing her lips, deeply engraving her scent into his memory as a memento of their temporary parting.

Mm, subsequently, she still forcefully sucked a mouthful near Fisher's lips, attempting to leave a conspicuous mark. However, it still proved fruitless, making her imperceptibly puff out her cheeks slightly again.

That mysterious hickey from yesterday had already disappeared during last night's rest. Actually, at that time, if not for that thing abruptly appearing in front of Raphaela, Fisher could completely use the power of the Life Completion Manual to instantly make it vanish.

But since she had discovered it, Fisher also didn't quite want to use that chaotic power to scare her. After all, when used, his entire body from top to bottom would squirm. He could only wait for a whole night before slowly eliminating it; this would also be more natural.

After obtaining Raphaela's farewell kiss, Fisher left the room alone, preparing to set off for the "Gate of Victory," the entrance to the Demon Dynasty recorded in the Scroll.

He first took back Eimhart, who was lying dead waiting for him in another room, into his embrace. Having been chased out by Raphaela many times, this Book Artifact gradually got used to it. Even if he came back anew, he was too lazy to complain anymore.

Eimhart was also a bit fearful of Raphaela in her mother tyrannosaurus state. And whenever Fisher went to coax this Dragon-kin Queen, he would also inevitably enter "prime adult male mode." Even if he was allowed to stay beside them, it would be quite uncomfortable; he simply went outside to seek some peace and quiet.

And exactly as Raphaela said, Jasmine had already been waiting in the Dragon Court for a long time.

When Fisher brought Eimhart in his embrace to look for her, she had already prepared a huge bunch of things in her room last night.

Right when Fisher was worried if it would be very troublesome to bring so many things, she instead used that Golden Crown on her head to give a slight collect, instantly storing all the things here into it. This made Fisher and Eimhart both Click Their Tongues in Wonder.

"This is..."

Jasmine touched the golden head crown on her head somewhat abashedly, saying to Fisher,

"This is a Relic made by my mother. It has the function of storing items."

He almost forgot. Even Muxi could manufacture the Angels' Holy Artifacts; how could her Demigod mother not know how to.

Furthermore, Fisher had learned the conditions for manufacturing Holy Artifacts when in the Sanctuary. They were respectively a powerful energy source and a sufficiently suitable medium. Actually, no matter how one looked at it, the seabed was an extremely suitable forging spot.

Not only were there various kinds of active volcanoes on the seabed, but it was also filled with massive amounts of water energy to serve as a medium. This was probably also the natural condition why Whale-kin like Muxi and Xuan Can were still producing Relics after the Sanctuary perished.

Bringing along Jasmine who was prepared to set off at any time, Fisher concurrently took out that whistle the Death Minister gave him previously.

When walking out of the Prayer and Blessing Tower, he gently aimed that whistle at his mouth and blew it slightly, letting out an extremely bizarre and unpleasant sound.

Listening to that sound, Eimhart staying in his embrace flew out uncomfortably to dodge it. It was just a pity he had no hands and couldn't directly reach out to cover his own ears like Jasmine beside him.

"Woo~ woo~ woo~"

As that ear-piercing, unpleasant whistling sounded from Fisher's fingertips, an aura Fisher was extremely familiar with abruptly lingered around his surroundings.

That kind of...

Aura of death?

"Chirp chirp~ coo coo~"

Right at this moment, a somewhat unpleasant bird cry transmitted from an unknown direction in the Dragon Court.

Fisher's ears twitched slightly. He raised his head to look at the sky, only to exactly see a wobbly grey Southern Continent sparrow flying over towards this side. However, the sharp-eyed Fisher quickly discovered the bizarre aspect of that sparrow.

He saw that sparrow in the sky possessed a shriveled body. The originally rotund belly completely caved in right now. Looking from the outside, it turned out a large hole was broken on it, thereby exposing the completely shriveled Five Viscera inside.

That sparrow's feathers were messy. The head was also deformed due to some external factor, yet it still flew tenaciously.

As if manipulated by some miraculous power, possessing some kind of bizarre, endless vitality. It used its pale, lifeless yet continuously flickering eyes to look at the group consisting of Fisher and Jasmine below.

"Coo coo..."

"Holland?"

"..."

That sparrow resembling a corpse wobbled and stepped onto the eaves of a nearby building, tilting its head to look at Fisher below. After a moment of silence, a kind of unpleasant speech mimicking the Cardo Language bloomed from its vacant lower abdomen,

"I have already arrived at the gate leaf waiting for you... Come over..."

"Here... something is not quite right come quickly..."

After that sparrow arduously spat out the words it wanted to convey word by word, along with spitting out several small and white Maggots, that small, belly-vacant sparrow also tilted its little head and fell from the eaves, remaining Motionless forevermore.

At this moment, spanning the northern end of the Southern Branch Mountain Range, was the frontline of the war between the Red Dragon Court and the Pseudo-Court previously, and also the place where Fisher had seen traces of war remaining previously.

Continuing several tens of kilometers further north from this leftover battlefield, a dense array of military camp tents was already set up now. The soldiers walking back and forth inside moving fortifications and transporting logistical supplies were exactly the campsite of the Human Allied Army.

"General Barbatos, all fortifications have been fully prepared. Standing by at any time."

Inside the main tent, an orderly responsible for conveying orders carefully and cautiously stepped in with his head lowered, informing the tall and burly man sitting at the end of the tent regarding the news that everything outside was ready.

Even though it was an army's main tent, the structure inside appeared exceptionally simple. There were no war chess tables, no maps, nor any military officers responsible for strategic discussion.

In other armies of Naris, such a main tent configuration might appear slightly bizarre, but the soldiers of this Human Allied Army had long grown accustomed to this point.

Or rather, this was the mystery behind General Barbatos's invincibility. He was truly excessively powerful, and his decisions never had any mistakes. This made the soldiers under his command long accustomed to obeying his orders rather than questioning him.

Hearing the orderly's words, the two people inside the tent both appeared lacking in interest. Besides General Barbatos, it was the Chief of Staff, Agreas.

Barbatos had no response. It was the petite woman wearing glasses and a white military uniform who waved her hand at him saying,

"I know. You can go out."

"Yes!"

After the orderly retreated outside the tent and returned the quietness to them anew, Barbatos finally shot a glance at Agreas beside him and spoke,

"Baimon said that guy hasn't completely sunk into Chaos yet, so it's still not the time to seize the Blessing of Fermabaha on that Dragon-kin's body... Let's give them a bit of pressure first. It's best to make that Dragon-kin sustain injuries, this way he will hurry up."

Upon hearing this, Agreas remained silent without uttering a word, looking at the entrance of the tent the whole time. Her fingers continuously brushed across her chin. The pair of eyes hidden beneath the glasses flashed with a bit of unclear meaning.

After pondering deeply for quite a while, she finally murmured,

"Barbatos, do you feel... Baimon is trustworthy?"

Barbatos looked at her expressionlessly and questioned,

"What does this mean?"

"Our entire race has been imprisoned under the trial of that False God for over a thousand years, yet she has been freely wandering outside the whole time..."

"Didn't she long ago already..."

"I know she confessed to us, she spoke of her relationship with that group of Angels, and moreover Baal and the others are also not unaware of Baimon's true origins, but what I'm saying is not this..."

Below Agreas's lenses flashed a bit of scarlet, bloody light as she looked towards Barbatos,

"I meant, a guy like her, would she actually care about us bunch who have been locked up for over a thousand years?"

"...She might be borrowing our strength to accomplish some goal."

Agreas nodded. Her expression wasn't considered good-looking,

"Letting us out was merely a sweet treat she gave. I even suspect the method she gave to release Eliog's soul back then was to lay the groundwork for the current situation. Our freedom is merely a sweet treat she gave, for the sake of treating us as chess pieces to accomplish her unknown secrets."

"..."

Barbatos's handsome face creased in a frown. A bit of feeble wind flashed in his hands. From that wind transmitted a hint of the sounds of painful howling, seeming to be his method of inquiring about a certain kind of information.

After staying silent for quite a while, he finally said,

"What could her goal be?"

"Heh, how would I know. That guy is a 【King】 after all; the secrets contained within her body aren't something we can imagine. Moreover, she was dead certain we definitely wouldn't ignore the other locked-up compatriots. Your partner, my friend are all still restricted within."

Barbatos closed his eyes and let out a long sigh, saying in a low voice,

"Yes, he's still inside..."

"However, even as cunning as her, she still revealed a slight flaw."

Barbatos opened his eyes, seemingly feeling interested in the words coming from her mouth,

"Flaw?"

"Think carefully about the matter she wants us to accomplish. Assuming her true goal isn't actively wanting to help us and our compatriots escape our predicament, then her goal is definitely closely related to the matter she needs to borrow our strength to accomplish..."

Barbatos was too lazy to think, hence he merely propped his cheek waiting for Agreas to think of an answer...

And after several seconds passed, Agreas's eyes abruptly brightened up. It seemed a flash of inspiration brought her a possible answer, murmuring as she said,

"That husband the human Empress is pursuing..."

"Husband? And also the human who had affairs with that Dragon-kin?"

"Mm."

"How can you be certain?"

Agreas sneered, but the clues discovered within her brain seemed to grow more and more. The corners of her mouth also raised higher and higher,

"I indeed cannot be certain. But don't you feel, as someone like Baimon, would she possess such an understanding towards a human?"

She cracked her knuckles, issuing out crisp "creak creak" sounds like mechanical parts one after another, then continued saying,

"If we say it's some mysterious knowledge, then her understanding it would be very normal. But if it's towards a person? She seems dead certain that man would immerse himself in Chaotic Knowledge to protect that Dragon-kin. Such certainty towards a certain person's disposition... hehe, appearing on that Baimon, wouldn't you find it very strange?"

Barbatos narrowed his eyes and said in a low voice,

"Fischer Benavides, what relationship would he have with Baimon?"

"Regardless of what relationship it is, even slandering her with the greatest malice and saying that man is her Paramour is fine. Or maybe there's something on that man's body that Baimon wants... What if, we can obtain him a step ahead?"

"..."

Agreas snapped another one of her index fingers and tossed it towards the ground anew. Subsequently staring blankly as it resembled a worm coming alive, burreling into the ground, heading towards an unknown location.

Chapter 580: The Person in the Gate

Fisher was at the Mythic Rank. Although Jasmine wasn't Mythic, she was at least a Fourteenth-Tier Whale-kin. Therefore, even though the "Gate of Victory" was a long distance away from the Dragon Court, Fisher didn't really take it to heart when considering their traveling speed at the beginning.

It would only take them around one morning to arrive at their final destination. And the fact indeed was exactly as Fisher anticipated: setting off in the early morning, before noon even arrived, they could already catch a glimpse of a patch of lush greenery beneath the Southern Branch Mountain Range from afar.

"Chirp chirp chirp!"

Fisher's geography was average, unable to completely confirm the specific location of that Gate of Victory. But when one or two "zombie birds" in a similar condition to the morning's occasionally flew past the sky, he knew the Death Minister and the Gate of Victory were approximately nearby.

Actually, those things carrying the aura of corpses were primarily discovered by Jasmine beside him. He didn't know if it was because of her Blessing and identity as a Whale-kin that her perception of life was rather sensitive. But this also made her think of the words Raphaela said last night, causing her to invisibly spawn worry.

That friend Fisher mentioned... why would he use this kind of method with an aura that felt somewhat off? Or rather, Raphaela's words were true; Fisher's method to save the Dragon Court must definitely be extremely dangerous...

"We're almost there. Let's keep walking, Jasmine."

Jasmine following behind Fisher subconsciously nodded her head, yet still couldn't help but ask him,

"Fisher, are those things the method of that friend you mentioned?"

"Mm, just treat him as a... slightly more special human. He Harbors No Malice."

"Is that so..."

Jasmine walked quickly forward to walk side-by-side with Fisher, and asked about another matter again,

"Right, Fisher, I've wanted to ask previously. If the Demon Dynasty is the lair of those demons, won't our entry be discovered by them? They're very formidable. If Barbatos discovers it and rushes back, we're afraid..."

Fisher's footsteps slowed slightly, his expression carrying some thought. But after staying silent for a moment, he still shook his head and analyzed,

"It's highly unlikely they would know. Barbatos and Agreas both believe they truly have been released, and completely don't know the seals on their bodies have actually only been temporarily lifted by the Base. That person who released them deceived them. Unless that person is willing to expose their own lie and inform them of this matter, they temporarily won't be able to discover our movements in a short while... But this is also only temporary. We need to hurry."

Eimhart also extended one eye and said to Jasmine,

"He's right. Actually, the Demon Dynasty is also not considered a lair for the demons. Not mentioning the places they respectively live in are separated by large distances, even back when they were free, the majority of them wouldn't stay together within the Dynasty. Most of them are pretty displeased with each other. Therefore, as long as we don't enter the places where those two Demon Gods reside within the Dynasty, they won't discover you all have come... Oh, there's also one exception: besides not being able to enter Barbatos's and Agreas's residences, you also cannot enter the place where a Demon God called 【Cidi】 resides."

"Cidi... why?"

Fisher and Jasmine both looked towards Eimhart rather curiously, only to see him Hesitating To Speak. Finally, he had no choice but to say,

"It's just a rumor, saying his relationship with Barbatos is Extraordinary, the kind of unusual you know. Legend has it that Demon God Cidi possesses indescribable, peerless beauty. Regardless of male or female, anyone seeing him will be seduced by him and fall madly in love with him. And as a demon, Cidi also loved enticing people to engage in sexual intercourse and enjoy ultimate bliss. Even the most robust king of the Human Central Kingdom back then fell in adoration beneath his charm, even producing a situation where a grandfather, son, and grandson trio competed for him as a partner...

"Whereas Barbatos as a Demon God happened to be exactly the opposite. Rumors say he was extremely upright, the way he extracted Fallen Self-Nature was surprisingly through animals rather than sapient beings. And back then, almost all hunters on the continent worshipped him and the gentle breeze serving as his symbol, yearning for freedom and a tempered spirit.

"As a Demon God seeking ultimate bliss in the human world, Cidi naturally also noticed this upright Demon God, thereby developing a strong interest towards him and attempting to seduce him, yet never succeeding. In the end, after an unknown amount of time passed, he instead became the one attracted by Barbatos himself... Mm, anyway, since then he never seduced anyone else anew, and when appearing anew, he would only show up together with Barbatos."

Fisher froze slightly. He exchanged a glance with Jasmine, simultaneously opening their mouths to repeat a certain pronoun in Eimhart's words,

"He?"

"Ah, yes... You know, demons all possess genders. Cidi and Barbatos are both male demons in the traditional sense. But that guy Cidi... mm, after all he swings both ways and is rather skilled in this path, I also find it hard to say. But anyway it is what it is..."

Jasmine's small face reddened slightly, dodging her gaze a bit. Meanwhile Fisher also rubbed his temples and hastily told Eimhart to stop, expressing he didn't want to hear anymore about the love story between those two homosexual demons, just knowing they couldn't go to their residences would suffice.

They'd better focus on the matter of entering the Demon Dynasty right now.

Actually, in Fisher's view, Helaire and the two demons strictly speaking did not belong to the same faction. If one had to distinguish, she was probably merely utilizing them to destroy the catalyst for activating the World-Ending Prophecy (Raphaela), rather than truly wanting to release the demons.

And when the two Demon Gods learned that no matter how much they listened to Helaire they couldn't possibly regain their freedom, they would automatically detach from Fisher's "enemy status." Their current concealment within the human army, engaging in petty fights with a Fourteenth-Tier Dragon-kin for a full four and a half years, were all for the sake of freedom. Once the goal of freedom fell through, they would conversely obstruct Helaire's plan.

Two Eighteenth Tier Demon Gods—even for Helaire, dealing with them would probably be very troublesome too. More importantly, having previously hidden the two Demon Gods within the Naris army for so long, once exposed at this moment, all her previous efforts would be wasted.

Of course, Helaire could completely find some reason to remind them to pay attention to the Demon Dynasty. But if so, Fisher's goal of heading to the Dynasty would turn into a fuse. They would eventually discover the trick Helaire played, and the target would also change from Raphaela to Fisher himself.

Fisher would rather bear the risk of facing the two demons himself; even if he died within the Demon Dynasty, he also couldn't allow the two demons to be driven by Helaire to destroy the Dragon Court and kill Raphaela.

And Helaire had said she wouldn't personally raise her hand against Raphaela. Whether it was from worrying about getting tainted by the World-Ending Prophecy's impact or because of Fisher, it was unclear. But in short, Fisher could only assume she would abide by this promise right now.

Right now, Helaire and Fisher both needed time. Helaire needed to maintain the loyalty of the two Demon Gods until the timing of the World-Ending Prophecy arrived to kill Raphaela. Whereas Fisher needed time to find the Base and seal those two Demon Gods back into the Dynasty anew.

Therefore, Helaire would likely not directly tell the two Demon Gods the truth of this matter, yet she also wouldn't sit idly by and watch Fisher enter the Dynasty to snatch the Base.

Next, Fisher could only take things one step at a time, seeing how this bad angel would act.

Crossing the Southern Branch Mountain Range, at the northern end of the Southern Branch Mountain Range, heading upwards along a clear river threading through the jungle. As the corpses of birds and sparrows on the ground grew more and more numerous, the surrounding environment also grew increasingly primeval and remote; who knew exactly how long it had been since any other sapient beings visited here in the long stretch of years.

"...Here?"

Not far ahead, Fisher saw the hunchbacked Death Minister Holland, with wisps of smoke lingering around him, on a tree trunk broken in half at the waist. Hearing the commotion behind, he "creaked" turning his head slightly. Like a walking corpse, he shot a glance at the two people arriving behind him, concurrently giving a greeting.

Of course, he seemingly didn't anticipate Jasmine would come, or perhaps those corpse little birds didn't possess the efficacy of completely and clearly transmitting information. However, he didn't care much, merely turning his head back to look forward, saying to Fisher,

"Think of a way, Fisher. I've been researching here all morning, yet still don't know how to go down... Or rather, this place isn't the Gate of Victory at all. Did I remember incorrectly and find the wrong location?"

Right around where the Death Minister was sitting, various bird corpses were piled up densely. The corpses extended all the way across, leading straight towards a cave beneath the mountain body wrapped in green vegetation ahead.

That cave was rather large and extremely deep, entirely dark inside. Even following the extremely bright noon sunlight from outside and looking inside, the specific outline couldn't be clearly seen. One could only vaguely see the cave possessed a certain slope, rather steeply leading straight underground.

Jasmine very much disliked the aura of this bizarre human before her eyes, and couldn't quite put her finger on what exactly she disliked... If she had to explain it clearly, it was more like she disliked that sense of ruination profaning life on his body.

Therefore, she didn't engage in any communication with him. After merely giving a greeting, she stood by Fisher's side, staying far away from him.

Fisher raised his eyes and swept a glance at that cave hidden amongst the mountains. He quickly discovered many symbols engraved beside that cave that had already been weathered and eroded away to the point of being unclear. However, relying on his impression, Fisher still nodded and said with certainty,

"This place is indeed the entrance to the Dynasty. It should be the Gate of Victory. The marks beside the mountain cave, I've seen them on another demon Portal in Naris. There were a full seventy-two there, whereas here there's only a portion of them. It should only be the marks of the Demon Gods residing behind this gate leaf."

"...In the morning I attempted to let my undead creations probe the specific situation inside the cave. But every time, not long after walking inside, they would lose control and completely vanish. Furthermore, glowing objects will quickly lose efficacy inside; oil lamps, torches, and magic are all like this. Resulting in me still not knowing its internal structure up until now. But this mountain cave always gives me a very dangerous feeling. Are you certain you want to enter from here?"

Fisher pondered for a moment, turned his head to look towards the Death Minister, and opened his mouth saying,

"Our time is very tight. Let's set off. I'll walk in front, Jasmine walks in the middle, you bring up the rear at the very back."

The Death Minister shrugged his shoulders expressing agreement. Anyway he wouldn't die, merely afraid of failing to find the correct entrance, that's all,

"Let me walk at the very front. Even if something happens, I can also give you all early warnings in advance. You walking at the very back can look after the two of us; your strength is the strongest, this way is also relatively secure."

Fisher turned back to shoot a glance at Jasmine. Seeing her nod in agreement, he and the Death Minister then took the lead to walk to the cave's entrance. He saw him crook his finger, and those bird corpses fallen onto the ground behind him consecutively struggled up "cluck cluck", flying towards this side,

"Let's go."

Jasmine behind covered her neck, quietly following behind Fisher. Fisher instead shot a glance at those birds, concurrently asking while entering the mountain cave alongside the Death Minister,

"To what extent have you read your manual?"

"Only read the beginning. If possible, I truly want to share it with you, but the Lord of Fate told me it's best not to do so."

"Because it will trigger antagonism and repulsion between us?"

"Very smart... Before my manual belongs to you, the manuals will subconsciously repel the owner leaking and sharing the knowledge outward. This is also the reason why that knowledge cannot be recorded using ordinary means. And believe me, even if you find the correct method, you still cannot record it down. The moment you do so, the Completion Handbook you originally possessed will turn into a pile of blank paper."

Amidst the Death Minister's explanation, Jasmine and Fisher also quickly stepped into that deep darkness one by one.

Eimhart in his embrace somewhat fearfully shrank his head back into his embrace anew, deeply afraid some terrifying thing would scurry out from the surroundings.

Fisher used his hand to rub the wall. The Mana Circuit on his body lit up instantly, instantly producing dazzling light within the darkness.

However, in an instant, that light was swallowed by the darkness beside them. The Mana Circuit was also uncontrollably turned off. When Fisher attempted to do this anew again, he couldn't summon the Mana Circuit no matter what.

The darkness here truly did swallow light...

But fortunately, their formation was reasonable, and they also had the Death Minister's undead bird flock that seemed noisy but actually continuously reported his presence. Walking for a long time, no unexpected incidents occurred whatsoever.

It was unknown exactly how deep this cave was. Fisher felt they had walked for at least an hour, or perhaps even longer. Constantly advancing towards the depths below the ground surface, yet seeming as if they had always been marking time in place the whole time.

"Thump!"

The entrance behind them could already no longer be seen completely. Even looking over with Fisher's Mythical Rank gaze, only a patch of pitch blackness remained. But following closely, in front of him, the muffled sound of those birds colliding with something abruptly occupied Fisher's ears, concurrently transmitting waves of echoes within the mountain cave that seemed as if they wanted to slice through the darkness.

He hastily turned his head to look over, only to find the mountain cave ahead had expanded by more than double once again, turning into an extremely expansive space resembling an underground plaza.

And amidst the darkness at the very front, the Death Minister's voice slowly transmitted,

"Ahead, there seems to be a door."

"...Not 'seems to be', there truly is a door."

In the darkness, Fisher's and Jasmine's line of sight was far superior to the Death Minister's. The two of them simultaneously looked towards the front, easily seeing the gate leaf emitting specks of fluorescence amidst that darkness.

That was a gigantic gate leaf approximately thirty meters tall. The entire body appeared bright silver, the surface extremely smooth. Fisher also didn't know if its material itself was like this, or if a layer of frost had frozen over it due to the cold. But judging from the ambient temperature right now, the answer was highly likely the former.

The Death Minister let all the undead bird flock beside him fall back onto the ground to return to quiet anew. While the three of them little by little approached that gigantic "frost gate leaf". Within the faint darkness, the fluorescence emitted by that gate leaf became the sole light source, helping them clearly see the structure upon it.

Above the gate leaf, written using ancient human script and the chaotic script of demons, was its name.

"Gate of Victory... we've arrived."

"...But the question is, how do we enter?"

The Death Minister scrutinized the Gate of Victory before his eyes that was unknowingly how heavy and shut tighter than tight, questioning thusly.

Fisher remained silent for a moment. Subsequently, he extended his hand and placed it on the gate leaf carrying a speck of chilliness. Within the darkness, his physical structure changed little by little, turning into a form more suited for exerting force. Subsequently, he began using the full strength of his entire body, attempting to push open the gate leaf before his eyes, but it was Of No Avail.

"No good. Using brute force simply cannot open it,..."

He murmured. His body's state returned to the appearance of a human little by little, informing the two people beside him of the conclusion.

The sturdiness of this Gate of Victory exceeded his imagination. At the very least, it wasn't something an ordinary Mythical Rank could push open relying on brute force. He even suspected only Jasmine's mother Xuan Can personally coming here might be able to push the gate leaf open.

As for those rocks beside the gate leaf, if the gate leaf couldn't be opened, knocking away the stone blocks beside it would similarly be able to bypass this gate. Smashing open some stones should be child's play for the current Fisher...

But right when he thought this, concurrently preparing to do so, he only then abruptly discovered the Death Minister and Jasmine beside him hadn't replied to his words. Even those undead bird flocks landed on the ground also abruptly lost their sound, as if they had suddenly evaporated...

"Jasmine?"

"They... seem to have all disappeared!"

Eimhart in his embrace evidently also noticed this bizarre scene, trembling as he hastily shrank even deeper into Fisher's embrace, speaking thusly.

Fisher also frowned and turned his head to look towards the boundless darkness beside him, yet discovered he saw absolutely no human figures at all.

"Buzz buzz buzz..."

He didn't know where they went, but in the next second, the frost-like surface on the gigantic gate leaf in front of Fisher actually began surging slightly, slowly eliminating that unclear layer of "frost" on its surface, causing this gate leaf to instantly become clear like a Mirror or glass...

And within the gate leaf, a shadow roughly the same height as Fisher also faintly leaked through. As if standing on the other side of the gate leaf, slowly approaching this large gate.

"..."

Fisher covered Eimhart in his embrace and vigilantly retreated a step. Tightly staring at that human silhouette within the gate leaf drawing nearer and nearer, until its true appearance completely leaked fully through...

Yet upon seeing that human silhouette, Fisher was directly dumbfounded, standing frozen on the spot.

He saw that within the gate leaf, that human silhouette was roughly as tall as him, but the figure was even slightly more slender than his...

And this so-called "slightly more slender" was actually vastly different from his physique, it could be said it was worlds apart.

That silhouette wore a set of Dragon Court apparel with a color similar to his, except his was a men's style, whereas the outfit worn by that human silhouette was a tight-fitting Androgynous long top and long pants, leaving ample space at locations where space should be left, thereby accentuating her graceful curves.

And that human silhouette's appearance also shared identical features with Fisher—black hair, black eyes, and three-dimensional facial features. It was just that her long hair fluttered and her red lips were like specks. Contrasting Fisher's current short hair and bit of stubble, the skin of that human silhouette was so delicate and juicy, appearing both heroic and adorned with a bit of spiritual aura.

By this point, Fisher also gradually began realizing the appearance of the woman within the gate was probably a full eight or nine tenths similar to himself. Or rather, apart from gender being different from Fisher, everything else about that human silhouette was exactly identical!

That woman's expression was stern. As if she had also just arrived before this gate leaf and was currently exploring the secrets of this "Gate of Victory," yet ended up discovering other suspicious human silhouettes "hidden" within the gate...

And she also tacitly produced an identical reaction as the Fisher here. Looking at the Fisher outside the gate, she also froze slightly, revealing Absolutely Unprecedented vigilance.

She also covered her chest and retreated a step, covering the obviously shaped softness on her chest until it changed shape... This caused the dumbfounded Fisher to inevitably also touch his own pectoral muscles, wanting to confirm nothing had sprouted there that shouldn't appear there. However, he only felt Eimhart's square body.

Feeling Fisher's strokes, Eimhart in his embrace hastily opened his mouth to inquire in a low voice,

"What happened, what happened? Why did you suddenly stop talking, Fisher?"

Of course he was extremely afraid, even thinking they had encountered some dirty thing like "Baimon", thus so scared he didn't dare to pop his head out.

But after pondering it over, he felt the atmosphere wasn't quite right again.

For example, logically speaking, if Baimon had come, then she'd probably be saying some coquettish words to Fisher right now, yet it was surprisingly so quiet right now?

Something wasn't right, something wasn't right...

However, if it wasn't Baimon, could it be there were still any other terrifying things in this world?

Thinking thusly, Eimhart's heart abruptly spawned courage bordering upon infinity.

Therefore, he hastily struggled, poking his head out from Fisher's embrace, scrutinizing the outside situation.

"This is..."

Poking his book cover out, he quickly discovered that "female version Fisher" within the gate. Yet before he could open his mouth wide expressing astonishment, in the next second, precisely after he had poked out his head—he saw the budding softness on the chest of that "female Fisher" abruptly tremble. Subsequently, a book of wisdom with a pink book cover also similarly drilled out from it.

Only to see on the book with the pink book cover, on top of its phoenix-eyed single eye, grew some long and curled black eyelashes. The small mouth beneath that singular eye was also ladylike-ly opened slightly in surprise, seemingly similarly filled with astonishment.

Eimhart blankly stared at the situation inside the gate. So he also inevitably opened his mouth, murmuring a sentence,

"Your mom..."

Chapter 581: Yin Nature

"How could there be such an ugly version of myself?"

Eimhart blankly scrutinized the pink-covered book blinking its phoenix eyes within the gate. Amidst his shock, he still couldn't help but give his own evaluation.

"Hmph, what vulgar wording. It's simply as ugly and vulgar as a dirty piece of avocado bread dropped on the ground... Listening to your unpleasant voice and coarse words simply pollutes the ears of the noble Book Princess."

Yet he saw that small book in the embrace of the "female version Fisher" opposite the gate leaf fly out of her embrace, speaking thusly with extreme disdain and disgust.

Every one of her sentences was like a Steel Knife stabbing into Eimhart's heart, angering him to no end,

"What?! You actually dare to insult the great Sir Book Artifact! You... you... I'm so mad! I'm going to fight you to the death!"

"Hehe, triggered..."

"Your mom!!"

That pink "Book Princess" of the other party advanced a distance unwilling to show weakness, drawing closer and closer to that transparent gate leaf alongside Eimhart. Worried there might be some danger to this gate leaf, Fisher hastily opened his mouth to call out to Eimhart to make him stop.

Yet he didn't expect the female version of himself behind the gate leaf to also open her mouth simultaneously,

"Eimhart!"

"Emeliro!"

The two sharply opposing books stopped simultaneously, shooting a vicious glare at each other, before flying back onto the shoulders of their respective partners anew.

The woman opposite the gate leaf scrutinized Fisher outside the gate leaf expressionlessly. After pondering for a split second, she subsequently said to the Book Princess on her shoulder,

"Is this the test of the 'Gate of Victory', creating a gender-swapped myself from within the gate?"

"Probably so, Fischer, but I advise you to confirm once more. After all, they seem capable of thinking, rather than a simple illu... Fischer, wait!"

But in the next moment, the Fischer within the gate twisted her neck. A slender, mercury-like sword blade violently darted out from her right hand. Simultaneously, the Mythical Rank energy filled with chaotic aura all over her body also opened full fire. Transmitting along that gate leaf, it surprisingly gave Fisher a sensation of a violent earthquake.

She looked at the Fisher before her eyes with a cold face. Subsequently, with one swoop, she threw the Book Princess Emeliro on her shoulder to the side, whistling through that gate leaf, transforming into a physical entity and charging towards Fisher.

No, why is her Fluid Sword still fine, while his own is withered?

"Fischer!"

"Fisher!"

Fisher's complexion also sank slightly. Subsequently, he similarly threw off Eimhart on his shoulder. The Book Princess behind the gate leaf also anxiously followed up, biting the bullet and crossing the gate leaf to head towards this side.

"Rumble!"

As Fisher's flesh continuously squirmed, his eyes violently locked onto the movement direction of the other party's Fluid Sword. Recalling his usual method of using the Fluid Sword, he roughly predicted a direction. Subsequently, his entire person flashed and dodged towards another direction.

Yet he didn't expect, diametrically opposite to his own usage habits, the Fluid Sword in Fischer's hands instantly transformed into a giant hammer that looked extremely heavy. She also concurrently twisted her body, violently slicing through the air around her, issuing a popping sound as it smashed towards the direction Fisher was dodging to.

This strike seemed somewhat Unexpected for Fisher, but he quickly reacted. The chaotic power of the Life Completion Manual within his body was exerted to the extreme. Behind him abruptly sprouted many slime-like tentacles that turned into whips, pulling on the adjacent stone wall and Fischer's wrist. Leaping into midair, he violently smashed a punch towards her face.

"Rumble!"

The other party's hammer swung into empty air, but the terrifying power of the Mythical Rank formed a storm within this extremely expansive mountain cave. Amidst the shaking earth and swaying mountains, the stone blocks of the mountain cave above also began rapidly collapsing, completely blocking off the path Fisher came from.

Fischer was punched back before the gate leaf. She painfully covered her face that had been hammered red, twisting her neck "clack clack clack".

But the collapse hadn't stopped. Frowning, Fisher leaped several times within the mountain cave, dodging the massive chunks of crushed stones.

"Fischer! Are you crazy?! I already told you don't be impulsive, yet you just traversed exactly through this gate leaf just like this. What if we can't go back?"

"Ptooey!"

Fischer wore a cold face, spitting out a mouthful of saliva before standing up. Then looking at the Fisher before her eyes, she said in a low voice,

"I must hurry up, Helaire is still waiting for me to return. Move aside, I will resolve this very quickly."

"Sigh, you really don't listen to advice. Even if it's for Baimon's sake... he looks so similar to you, and both are at the Fifteenth Tier, haven't you discovered anything amiss yet?"

Fisher, who was originally staring at the collapsing mountain cave around them with furrowed brows, froze slightly upon hearing the other party utter the name "Helaire". Subsequently, he turned his head to look at her, questioning,

"Helaire?"

"What, can illusions also read my memories now? Telling you the truth, you'd best retreat quickly. I might do some impulsive things for my wife's sake..."

"Wife?"

Fisher grew increasingly confused, as if he didn't recognize the Nari Language she spoke. And Eimhart beside them also flew onto his shoulder once again with a face full of Unbelief, questioning,

"Wife? My goodness, don't tell me you married that damnable one? Even if you turned into a woman, I still find this matter very unbelievable and hard to accept..."

Fischer's complexion grew even colder. Yet surprisingly, the one refuting Sir Book Artifact wasn't her personality; the one who got anxious first was the Book Princess floating beside her,

"What? I forbid you to speak of Baimon like this! Actually daring to curse her as damnable, you stinky rag!"

"Crazy... crazy... to think there would actually be someone helping Baimon speak..."

At this moment, the fact that the Book Princess before his eyes was defending Baimon gave Eimhart an impact force so massive that he was even completely oblivious to the other party cursing him as a rag.

He blankly shot a glance at Fisher, truly unable to figure out exactly what was going on.

Meanwhile, Fisher also frowned. Raising his hand to signal the other party to stop, he concurrently asked,

"You married Helaire, and moreover came to the Demon Dynasty for her sake?"

Seeing the "illusion" before her eyes suddenly stop and speak, perhaps due to the reminder of the Book Princess's words beside her, Fischer didn't rush to make a move anymore. Yet she still remained filled with vigilance,

"What, trying to fish for information from me?"

"...What about Raphaela then?"

"You even know Raphaela?"

"Is it very strange to know her?"

"...No, just didn't expect illusions still need to fish for information to confirm information about me and my friend."

"Friend?"

"What, is she not your friend? Could she be your enemy?"

Fisher opened his mouth, momentarily unable to wrap his head around it.

Could it be the female version of himself was surprisingly this much of a scumbag? Even though he himself was like this, he at least didn't consider them to not be friends, whereas the Fischer before his eyes actually wasn't even willing to give a proper status?

Meanwhile, Eimhart also pursed his lips, complaining with the identical train of thought as Fisher,

"Although she isn't you, but putting yourself in her shoes for a bit, just think about how Raphaela only slept in the same bed with you last night, yet today you merely say she's your friend... Eek, she will definitely kill you."

"Wait, what, you slept with her... you and her... No, I should say, what is your relationship with your Raphaela?"

"She and I are Tail-Compatible Partners."

"Then what about Helaire?"

"...Also."

"..."

As Fischer listened, her complexion also grew colder and colder. Subsequently, she silently raised the giant hammer in her hand once again, pointing it at the Fisher before her eyes, concurrently saying,

"Sure enough, it's an illusion. It's impossible for me to be like this... Or rather, he is enticing me to fall, making me commit such a despicable act. Indeed the methods of demons, truly filthy. It's just a pity, I am unswervingly loyal to Helaire, it is absolutely impossible for me to do such a thing, you are disappointed..."

Meanwhile, the Book Princess beside her also nodded her head, putting on an appearance of being unable to bear looking straight at it.

"..."

Whereas Fisher and Eimhart both opened their mouths, momentarily speechless. After a moment of silence, Eimhart turned his head back to look at Fisher, saying,

"Bad, why do I also feel now that you're more like an illusion from the demon side seducing people into falling instead?"

"..."

"You should reflect on yourself."

"..."

Fisher didn't reply, merely also secretly sizing up the Fischer before his eyes. He discovered that no matter what method he used to look, the existence before his eyes was real.

She had a soul, a physical entity, and moreover her aura was identical to his own, a Mythical Rank entered via Chaos.

But aside from this, Fisher also began discovering a bit of a wonderful pattern. Namely, this Fischer presented diametrically opposite characteristics in many aspects compared to himself, and even the Book Princess beside her also possessed this characteristic.

Eimhart hated Baimon, whereas the Book Princess simply liked Baimon; Eimhart spoke anxiously and hastily, and when deeply anxious even liked to curse without thinking, whereas the Book Princess was unhurried and unpanicked, speaking very elegantly.

Whereas Fisher wasn't impetuous, liking to plan before acting; Fischer conversely was exactly the opposite, extremely impulsive, wanting to make a move against him directly even when the Book Princess couldn't persuade her otherwise.

Most importantly, he had a deep relationship with many ladies, whereas Fischer was unswervingly loyal, solely liking Helaire, and even marrying her (although Fisher also didn't know why the marriage partner would be Helaire).

Fisher could roughly sense, exactly the same as what Fischer sensed, the appearance of this bizarre phenomenon was absolutely inextricably linked with the Gate of Victory. But how could he shake off the other party and enter the Dynasty?

The method inside the Scroll was: defeat the invincible. Could it be he had to defeat the Fischer before his eyes to be able to enter the Dynasty?

After a moment of silence, he finally questioned,

"Helaire is a female, right?"

"...Could your Helaire be a male?"

"Then do you know Elizabeth?"

"She and I broke up peacefully. Now she is the kingdom's eldest princess. She and I can be considered friends, but we haven't met each other for a very long time."

"What about Renee?"

"My best friend."

"What about Jasmine?"

"Merely my student."

"What about Valentiina Turan?"

"You bastard! Don't tell me you laid your hands on all of them?! You animal!! Demon!!"

Fischer, however, could no longer continue listening. She hastily raised the giant hammer in her hand, aiming it at Fisher once again, denouncing the other party bitterly like this,

"Are you or are you not a Nali Person in the end? Don't tell me you've forgotten all of Nun Teresa's teachings to you?! Wait, could it be you weren't raised by Nun Teresa, but were raised by some Carduan instead, that's why you are so profligate."

"..."

It was probably because the Naris in her impression and the Naris where he resided were not the same place, right? Therefore, the two concepts of Naris and Kadu were also completely opposite to those in his impression?

But...

What about Teresa?

She sounded identical to the one in his impression, that gentle and devout...

Fisher remained silent for a split second, subsequently replying,

"I was raised by Nun Teresa... Even now, I also can't clearly distinguish whether you are ultimately an illusion generated by the Gate of Victory or a thing formed by some other reason. I believe you can also feel that both of us are physical entities, and moreover both have the strength of the Mythical Rank. Are you certain you want to continue making a move? If this continues, this place will completely collapse."

Both he and Fischer simultaneously shot a glance at the complete mess around them. Right now, the ceiling of the mountain cave was full of cracks, looking precarious, as if it could collapse down at any time.

Fischer remained silent for a moment. Subsequently, the giant hammer transformed from the Fluid Sword in her hand slowly turned into mercury fluid, retracting into the white sword hilt. She silently scrutinized the Fisher before her eyes, subsequently saying,

"What you said makes sense. But undeniably, you still turned your back on the teachings of Nun Teresa and the Mother Goddess... You should feel ashamed of this."

Great, she was actually a Mother Goddess believer.

"...Teresa never taught me matters between men and women. She is a believer of the Mother Goddess, keeping her mouth entirely shut regarding this. Compared to this, are you certain you still want to continue focusing your energy on criticizing my private life instead of thinking of a way to leave this gate?"

Fischer watched Fisher bypass herself and walk to the front of that Gate of Victory. She hesitated for a moment, and still walked to the front of that gate as well. However, she still couldn't help but complain one more sentence,

"True, but seeing you so fallen, Teresa wouldn't rest in peace in the church either... Before she passed away, she told me, hoping I could live up to my own heart in the future. But it seems she didn't say such words to you."

"..."

Fisher's action of observing the gate leaf froze slightly. Subsequently, he seemed to realize something, unable to help but press further a sentence,

"On your side, Teresa also passed away due to illness?"

"...Mm, heart disease."

"..."

Fischer turned her head to look at him puzzledly, not knowing exactly what Teresa had passed away from on Fisher's side.

Only Fisher knew that what she said was exactly Teresa's true cause of death.

When Teresa was young, she suffered from an incurable chronic heart disease. Her heart frequently ached, aching until her complexion turned pale, yet it was not fatal.

Until the summer Fisher graduated from high school and was about to head to university, her heart disease also began to grow increasingly severe. In a situation where both medicine and magic were helpless to cure her, the impoverished and young Fisher back then was at the End of his Rope. He could only watch helplessly as she became weaker bit by bit, until ushering in the ending of death, completely leaving his side...

But why, if everything else was opposite to Fisher, was Nun Teresa's cause of death completely identical?

Or rather, actually it was still opposite. Either it wasn't a natural death on her side, yet she hadn't discovered it...

Or, it was exactly on his own side, Teresa wasn't actually a natural death, but he himself hadn't discovered it?

Fisher was completely dumbfounded on the spot. This terrifying speculation caused his limbs to begin turning exceptionally icy cold, making his heart almost stop beating.

If Teresa was an unnatural death, then exactly because of what reason did she die? Who would want to kill a devout, Unknown To The Public Saint-Nazareth nun, snatching her away from his young self's side?

"Hey, why did you, scumbag, suddenly freeze up?"

"Fisher, are you alright?"

The Book Princess in front and Eimhart at the side both opened their mouths simultaneously, making Fisher snap back to reality little by little from that terrifying speculation.

He took a deep breath, rubbed the center of his brows, and replied,

"...I'm fine."

Even In The Most Extreme Case, could he possibly be paralyzed in hesitation right now just because of a bizarre phenomenon produced by this gate leaf inside the Demon Dynasty?

He must first place his attention on the matter of saving Raphaela before his eyes, not anything else.

It was merely because Nun Teresa was too special and important to him, thus he would...

Produce doubt.

Fisher swiftly reorganized his expression. Looking at the gigantic gate leaf before his eyes clear as glass and a Mirror, he said to Fischer,

"Just now, you all passed through this gate to arrive here with me. That is to say, the two sides of this gate respectively correspond to our two worlds?"

"...Mm, I need to pass through this gate to enter the Demon Dynasty. I must rescue Helaire who is bound within. The two demons discovered her free status and want to seek freedom through her, liberating all demons. At that time, for a world without Mythical Species, it will certainly be a catastrophe."

Fisher reached out to stroke that gate leaf. Subsequently, his fingers seemed to plunge into the water surface, passing through that gate leaf to enter the world on Fischer's side.

He could also go to their world?

But going to their side wouldn't solve the problem either. She also couldn't open this gate to head to the Dynasty.

Why is entering a gate of the Dynasty so troublesome? Could it be that the demons inside the Gate of Victory also didn't want people disturbing them just like Eliog, therefore making the entry conditions so troublesome?

"Do you have a Scroll recording the entry method for this gate?"

"I do, but the words on it are obscured by clouds and mist, something like... 'defeat the invincible'. Do you have any ideas?"

It seemed the method she obtained was identical to his own.

Fisher also didn't know exactly what method could allow entry. He swept a glance around the surroundings, wanting to see if there were any clues beside the gate leaf. But because Fischer's direct attacks previously had collapsed over half the mountain cave, nothing could be seen.

But probably Fisher had also shot a glance at the surroundings earlier; besides stones, there was nothing else.

And Fischer saw him searching for clues nearby, also feeling her earlier blind and direct attacks were slightly inappropriate. Hence she felt somewhat abashed, hastily shifting her gaze away, and together with him searched for possible clues in the surroundings to alleviate the awkwardness.

It was also this exact glance that made her suddenly discover something,

"Huh, this is..."

Fisher hastily turned his head to look at her, discovering she was currently raising her head to look above the gigantic gate leaf. It seemed there was something up there.

He also raised his head to look. What entered his vision were merely those two lines of "Gate of Victory" engraved in demon language and ancient human language from earlier, that's all.

"Is something the matter?"

"The things engraved above seem to be somewhat different from earlier. What I saw previously were two lines of 'Gate of Victory' in different languages."

"...What I saw was similarly also this."

"For real?"

Fischer hastily looked towards him. Subsequently, she pointed at the text above with Unbelief, saying,

"But what I see coming to this side now is..."

"Those who enter the Sun Gate, are of Yin Nature."

Chapter 582: Dynasty

"Those who enter the Sun Gate, are of Yin Nature."

Fisher chewed over the words Fischer read out. Subsequently, he raised his head to look at the two lines of text above that were still "Gate of Victory" in his eyes, as well as this gate leaf that was like a mirror surface,

"That is to say, is it possible this place actually corresponds to two gate leaves? My side here is the Sun Gate, your side over there is the Yin Gate, and we must swap before we can open the gate leaf?"

Fischer remained silent for a split second. Subsequently, she walked to the front of that gate leaf, lightly touching that gate leaf with her hand. But the result was still like falling onto a water surface; the physical entity of the gate leaf couldn't be touched at all.

She hastily shook her head and said,

"No good. I still can't open the gate on this side."

The Book Princess beside her pondered silently for a moment and said,

"Is it possible you need to go over to the Yin Gate, and then Fischer is at the Sun Gate over here, and then you both open it simultaneously to succeed?"

Eimhart hastily flew onto Fisher's shoulder, saying to him in a low voice,

"Are you certain you want to go over? What if this is a conspiracy of the Gate of Victory, and we get permanently locked inside the gate, what should we do?"

"Hehe, what a cowardly scoundrel. Although Fischer usually doesn't use her brain, at least her courage is commendable to come directly over for Baimon. Don't tell me your Fisher doesn't even have this bit of courage and trust?"

The Book Princess sneered, standing on Fischer's shoulder diametrically opposite to where Eimhart stood, mocking him like this.

Fisher rubbed Eimhart on his shoulder who still wanted to say something more. Subsequently, he turned his head to look at that gate leaf, saying,

"We're going over."

"Fisher..."

"Even if we don't go over, we're stuck here. I still have to fetch the Base, can't delay time."

"...Alright, I'll listen to you."

Fisher nodded his head. Subsequently, he gently reached his hand into that gate leaf. Under the gaze of the two behind whose everything was diametrically opposite to himself, he slowly sank into the other world within the Gate of Victory.

The process of entering was slow. Only after several seconds passed did he barely enter another intact cave that was identical to the location he stood in previously.

"? sgnileef drahc ym ekil s'ti woH... ereh ev'I ywh"

Eimhart muttered somewhat uncomfortably. But Fisher frowned, looking at him with a face full of confusion,

"What did you say?"

And Eimhart's expression was even more astonished. He hastily said,

"? gnihtyna leef t'nod uoy oD"

"...Don't speak first, there truly is a bit of something not quite right here."

Fisher narrowed his eyes. He took a deep breath, feeling this extremely bizarre aura around him. After a long, long time, he murmured,

"This is... Chaos."

Yes, here, he once again felt an extremely dense aura of Chaos. But it was different from all the feelings of Chaos he had seen previously.

This was a Chaos power possessing a nature he had never seen before, and extremely dense.

"! eromyna ti dnats t'nac I ,hA ! rood eht nepo hsup nac uoy fi ees dnah uoy ,kciuQ"

Eimhart was so uncomfortable he couldn't catch his breath. Even the words he spoke seemed as painful as being taken into his own throat and stomach from the outside. But Fisher was completely oblivious to anything being amiss; he couldn't feel anything.

But he still frowned and hastily looked towards the gate leaf, only to see that the gate leaf side was covered in a faint layer of mist anew, as if wanting to Isolate him from his previous world.

The silhouettes of Fischer and the Book Princess grew increasingly blurry on the gradually frosting gate leaf, swaying like reflections in water. Like some kind of silent mockery, also like some kind of profound guidance.

Did he fall for it?

Was he tricked by the Gate of Victory, played by it?

The book cover of Eimhart on his shoulder held back until it grew redder and redder, also gradually flashing dangerous golden light. Evidently, the environment here was even more agonizing than he imagined.

His inner heart also unknowingly grew anxious. A kind of restlessness and urgency erupted in an instant, uncontrollably driving away the calmness within his inner heart bit by bit.

He hastily arrived before the gate, reaching out to press down on the gate leaf. This time it no longer sank into it like falling onto a water surface. But the gate leaf still remained completely unmoving, like the hardest wall in this world, waiting for a formidable enemy like a True God to challenge it.

". eromyna ti dnats t'nac I ,rehsiF"

"..."

Fisher didn't pacify Eimhart on his shoulder who was growing weaker and weaker, unable to even stand stably. He merely reached out to embrace him into his bosom. Subsequently, he violently raised his head to look at the two lines of text on the gate leaf that should originally have been written as "Gate of Victory".

Sure enough, just as Fischer saw previously, the text above also changed once again.

This time, the two lines of text written above were,

"Fifth Sea"

"Yin Nature"

Sea?

Sea again?

Doubt suddenly burst forth in Fisher's mind. But closely following, that bizarre second line of text abruptly burst forth with inspiration within his mind.

Perhaps, he didn't fall for it. His direction was correct, it was just the Gate of Victory making him mistakenly believe he fell for it.

Remember the trick to entering the gate leaf was to "defeat the invincible".

But on the inner side of the gate leaf, or rather within this strange Yin-Yang Sea or whatever, everything is inverted. Therefore, actually the true trick wasn't "defeat the invincible", but "the victor has no need to fight"!

The moment this thought appeared, his expression suddenly became somewhat abstract.

Subsequently, he tentatively embraced Eimhart in his bosom, reaching out anew to place his hand on the gate. But this time, he didn't push the gate again, but pulled the gate.

The gate leaf was still extremely heavy, making him doubt if he was pulling a mountain rather than a gate leaf.

"Creak... creak..."

But right when he was doubting his life, the gate leaf before his eyes miraculously produced an uncontrollable trembling. Little by little, Fisher pulled it out, creating traces of friction against the ground.

The gate leaf slowly unfolded, revealing an extremely profound space before Fisher, as if leading to another scorching world.

The dense aura of the Authority of Death was something Fisher couldn't be more familiar with, as if forming an invisible, untouchable black veil carrying high temperatures rushing towards his face, enveloping him within it.

His body uncontrollably retreated backward into the gate leaf. Very quickly, he was submerged by the darkness within, disappearing on the spot.

The gate leaf behind rumbled, directly shutting. Leaving only the hot air escaping from the crack of the door lingering within the mountain cave, unwilling to leave.

"Buzz buzz buzz!"

"Jibber jabber!"

"Pipi peng!"

"Haruru!"

"Fisher!! Ahhhh!"

After entering the dimness of the gate leaf, the profound space within completely went vertical, no longer capable of providing a surface for humans to walk. Fisher and Eimhart then continuously fell downwards.

From below continuously transmitted a dense scent of saltpeter and formless heat waves, accompanied by some kind of roaring sounds like small animals entering Fisher's ears.

Eimhart's words beside finally reverted to normal from being inverted. But the uncomfortable feeling from previously made him momentary fail to react, spinning continuously in midair like a top, screaming as he fell downwards.

Within Fisher's peripheral vision, amidst that continuously accelerating fall, the darkness and profoundness before his eyes was broken through by light bit by bit. Spreading out from the center of the darkness, gradually revealing an incomparably expansive space below, completely filled by boiling magma and tiny creatures swaying long tails looking upwards like monkeys.

"Squeak squeak!"

That group of bizarre creatures as short as dwarves and slender as monkeys just stood on the black reefs within the magma ocean like that. Watching helplessly as the one person and one book slid down from above. They were originally extremely curious, but after sensing the terrifying aura of Fisher's Mythical Rank, they consecutively scurry around in fright, struggling to swim away in the magma, leaving the place Fisher might land.

"Rumble!"

Along with a massive sound, the Demon Dynasty that had always only had the chirping of Little Demons and the boiling sound of magma for thousands of years finally welcomed a guest it had never met before.

Within the black smoke dust completely filled with the smell of saltpeter, Fisher grabbed the dizzy Eimhart beside him with one hand, while scrutinizing the surrounding environment.

"This place is... the Demon Dynasty?"

Yet he saw amidst the extremely expansive, gigantic cave that seemed like the distance between heaven and earth, the radiance of surging magma reflected everywhere from the ground, reflecting sparkling traces upon the black stone walls. But upon closer inspection, that wasn't a generation principle like water, but because upon that magma, floated an incredibly dense array of terrifying-aura'd infinity symbols [∞], like a formless cage binding the magma in place.

And upon the magma sea where a glance couldn't see the end, wide black reefs, either scattered or connected to each other, became isolated islands and archipelagos. Under the scorching dim environment, Fisher also saw many, many vaguely indistinct traces of massive architecture and civilization.

Many of those architectures were either built against the mountains, or hung upside down on the stone walls, or stood solitarily on the isolated island reefs. Seemingly the places where some powerful existences resided.

And among the architectures there were also many, many delicate architectures. Within them lived many red, blue, and black-skinned Little Demons of varying colors bound by chains, carefully hiding and looking at Fisher.

"Fisher... blegh... I really want to vomit..."

Right when Fisher was scrutinizing the surrounding environment, Eimhart in his hand could no longer endure and weakly tumbled down, falling onto the adjacent reef, beginning to vomit out golden characters from his mouth one by one.

"Just now we entered the gate. That was an inverted space formed by Chaos power, therefore the Rules forming you began to rupture, thus it would be very uncomfortable. It should be a bit better now, we have already arrived at the Demon Dynasty."

"It's not because of this reason... I previously... have been to this place... This is exactly where I met Baimon... Although I already can't remember what happened at that time... but I will still be very uncomfortable..."

"Helaire..."

Yeah, as a member of the Demon Gods, Helaire should also have a palace she resided at here. It's just that this place was the area behind the Gate of Victory, whereas she was behind the Gate of Knowledge. Just didn't know exactly how far it was from here.

Then could it be possible, the Base she stored to affect the Mother Goddess Seal was exactly within the palace she resided at?

Fisher twisted his head to scrutinize the surroundings once again. Yet he saw behind those black reefs, many, many Little Demons hiding without revealing their figures. Under the sweep of his gaze, those Little Demons lacking clear consciousness consecutively dodged his gaze instinctively, shrinking their heads like ostriches.

He ignored those Little Demons whose rank was similar to ordinary humans. Merely at this moment, a bit of doubt spawned from his inner heart.

Since he himself had already come in, then where exactly did Jasmine and Holland run off to?

Did they come in?

"Squeak squeak..."

Exactly as Fisher was scrutinizing the surroundings searching for the figures of his companions, a red-skinned Little Demon growing two small horns suddenly crawled running over reluctantly from the front.

That Little Demon's figure was petite like a monkey. There were no sexual characteristics on his body, seemingly not possessing any reproductive or excretory functions. Completely bare, appearing extremely bizarre. Only that mouth full of sharp teeth continuously transmitted unclear and blurry words.

He was extremely afraid, not even daring to shoot Fisher a single glance. He kept spinning around in circles in the surroundings. After hesitating for a long time, he finally ran towards Fisher, raising his hand aiming at him.

Fisher frowned. Yet he saw his hand that only possessed three fingers spread open slightly, revealing a dirty strip of cloth above it.

"For me?"

"Squeak squeak..."

"..."

Fisher reached out to receive that strip of cloth. The moment he picked up that strip of cloth, the Little Demon before his eyes seemed like having completed his task, hastily jumping away towards the side, fleeing to an unknown place to hide.

Fisher shot a glance at the direction that Little Demon fled to. After hesitating for a split second, he still unfolded that strip of cloth, revealing a line of crooked handwriting within it. It was written using ancient human writing, very similar to Kadu's current writing,

"Respected and powerful guest, I have perceived your descent. Regardless of what identity you possess, or for what purpose you came to the Dynasty, I implore you to proceed towards the black shack ahead for a chat. Perhaps we can both be of help to each other."

"An invitation from a bound prisoner, hoping you will not refuse."

Fisher crumpled that yellowed strip of cloth that didn't know how long it had been stored or where it was torn from. Subsequently, he tossed it towards the adjacent magma, allowing the high temperature to Completely Devour it in the blink of an eye.

He raised his head to look above, yet weirdly discovered the rock wall above was extremely intact, without any passageways or any cavities at all. He previously seemed exactly like sliding out of mid-air from somewhere.

Therefore, he probably also couldn't be certain if Jasmine and the others had passed through the Gate of Victory, nor did he know where they would enter the Demon Dynasty from...

And that house...

Fisher looked forward. Very quickly, at the end of this black reef he was standing on, he saw a huge round shadow. Seemingly the outline of a certain architecture hidden amongst the cover of rocks. And the black house mentioned on the strip of cloth was located not far in front of that massive architecture.

Compared to a house, that place looked more like a small shed built using rubble.

"..."

Hesitating for a split second, Fisher still brought Eimhart and lightly tapped the ground, leaping towards that small black house in the blink of an eye.

"Guest... guest... I'm over here..."

From far away, Fisher heard an aged and shriveled shout. He raised his eyes to look over, and saw a skinny human figure wrapped in white cloth strips entirely polluted by yellow grease stains leaning on a stone cane waving his hand at Fisher.

When Fisher stopped, he immediately walked forward excitedly yet limping. Sweeping a glance up and down at Fisher, the single eye revealed from within the cloth strip wrappings was filled with shock. Hesitating for a split second, he still used the ancient human language to ask,

"Are you... human or what..."

"I am human."

"...Aiyah, this is truly... beyond my expectations... How could a human... Ah, unless you borrowed that kind of power."

He was somewhat at a loss supporting his cane, Muttering to Himself like this.

Whereas Fisher placed Eimhart back on his shoulder anew, similarly sizing up this person before his eyes shriveled to the point of being like a skeleton,

"That kind of power,"

"You should know of it, just..."

That human figure carefully, cowering like a mouse, shot a glance at the surrounding magma, as if deeply afraid the words he was about to speak next would be heard by some terrifying thing,

"...Just Chaos."

"..."

Fisher Neither Agreed Nor Disagreed, not continuing this topic anymore. Instead, he shot a glance at that extremely dilapidated small black house behind him. Inside were piled up tools made of who knew what. Fisher even vaguely saw the remains of some arthropod creatures carrying thick green liquid. That thing was currently placed on his dining table, serving as a kind of food.

Within the entire small house permeated an indescribable stench, roughly identical to the smell on this human figure's body, both so decayed, like a stone inside a latrine.

"What kind of person are you, what did you call me over for?"

"Oh... I..."

His slender fingers wrapped in white cloth rubbed his head. Seeming like conducting the difficult process called "thinking",

"Sorry, I have truly stayed here for far too long, too long. Some things... I am called Solomon, yes... If my perception wasn't wrong, within your bosom is exactly the 'Dynasty Scroll' I wrote."

Fisher froze slightly. Subsequently, he took out the guide scroll he obtained from the Demi-Human Completion Handbook. And when the Solomon before his eyes saw this scroll, an Unbelievable look filled his eyes,

"Yes, yes, it's exactly it, but... how is this possible? My son should have already burned it, right before my eyes, without even leaving a speck of ash."

Solomon, Fisher was a bit familiar with this name. Under Eimhart's eyes beside also widened a bit. Looking at the skinny old man before his eyes similarly filled with shock,

"Wait, what did you say? You are Solomon? That king from the Central Empire era several thousand years ago?"

Fisher also suddenly recalled. This king was famous in history for his worship of demons. During his reign, he built quite a few things beneficial to the demons' activities, such as brothels and wine pools.

Oh, the grandson among the grandfather, son, and grandson trio enchanted by Demon God Cidi was exactly the King Solomon before his eyes. The ending of this story concluded with "grandfather died of illness, father died in battle, grandson ascended the throne". It was just a pity the Demon God Cidi back then no longer showed up anymore.

But perhaps exactly because the Demon God Cidi who bewitched him left too deep an impression on this king of the human Central Empire, it resulted in him becoming so obsessively infatuated with the scholarship of demons.

Legend has it, he relied on the power of demons to build the Central Empire into an Absolutely Unprecedented powerful nation, never losing in foreign wars. Yet in his late years, he perished in an internal rebellion.

Solomon's son betrayed him, locking him alive within the royal palace and burning him to death, thereby usurping the throne.

This was another historical story of "a kind father and filial son". But Fisher didn't care about any of these. He cared more about why this king who should have been burned to death would appear in the Demon Dynasty, and why he would call himself over.

"Ah, yes, it's me..."

He hung his head somewhat shamefully. Concurrently, imperceptibly using that cane he was supporting himself with to block his face that was originally already wrapped by cloth strips. Yet he still couldn't block Eimhart's further pressing questions,

"Why would you be here? All the books record that you were burned alive to death by your son."

"...Ah, yes, but before I died I signed a pact with Baal. I promised, to exchange serving as his slave day and night after my death for my empire's might while I lived. Before I was burned to death, Baal snatched away my death, concurrently sending me to here, the Demon Dynasty... Hehe, you must know, this name was even a name I gave this damned place while I was reigning. Right, guest, how could you possess my destroyed scroll, and furthermore looking so new, like it was never damaged before."

He still inevitably looked towards the scroll in Fisher's hand, but Fisher had no way to answer him.

Fisher gave it from the Demi-Human Completion Handbook. He didn't even know this thing belonged to King Solomon, let alone how it was stored.

Fisher didn't answer this doubt of his, merely continuing to get straight to the point,

"What did you call me over for?"

"Oh, oh, it's like this... Although Baal signed a pact with me to make me serve as his slave and servant, but actually, they merely wanted to curse my bloodline through me, a former king of the empire. This way, my son who didn't believe in demons, his future generations for generations to come would all become providers of Food for the demons, going so far as spreading to the entire empire, until it perished one day..."

Eimhart opened his mouth wide, unable to help but murmur,

"Ha, no wonder your descendants were either cripples or lunatics, so it turned out to be because of the demons."

The son who usurped King Solomon's throne died young. Subsequently, all the descendants of his son turned into various bizarre monsters and freak demons. His grandson fell in love with his birth mother and blood sister. His great-grandson was a pervert who liked eating raw human meat and sadism. His great-great-grandson was another homosexual, who also liked dancing naked in public...

Historians termed this period as "The Sudden Decline", the starting point of the once flourishing Central Empire's final descent towards decline.

Of course, legends say exactly because King Solomon borrowed the power of the demons, therefore his descendants had to pay the price. And indeed the facts also appeared to be so.

Solomon sighed, nodding his head and saying,

"That's right, I also didn't expect it to be like this. Demon God Baal deceived me on the pact, or rather, this was originally a part of serving as his slave. And after my Central Empire perished, I entirely lost my usefulness, becoming livestock just like the Little Demons. And then further leading to them being collectively sealed by the great Mother Goddess, officially silencing the Demon Dynasty..."

Fisher interrupted Solomon's words and said,

"Let's cut to the chase, what did you call me over for?"

"Oh oh, it's like this. Originally because I lost my usefulness I devolved into livestock, but I was stripped of my death and couldn't die. So I could only wander everywhere within the Dynasty. Most Demon Gods didn't welcome a livestock without dignity like me, driving me away here and there. Only this Lord Demon God residing here didn't mind me taking temporary residence here. I am very grateful to her. During all these days she was sealed by the Mother Goddess, I've always been guarding her house as a watchdog. Even if I just acted as a watchdog, but even so, I still felt it was insufficient..."

As he spoke, he shot a glance filled with gratitude towards the majestic architecture right beside this black house. Subsequently, he used his cane to point at that architecture and said,

"Just not long ago... the not long ago I mentioned I also don't know how long it is, I have already lost the concept of Time. But it probably shouldn't be too much Time. I heard... there was a bit of commotion inside, like that Lord Demon God possessed consciousness and revived... I want to ask you to go in and confirm if she has broken free from the seal and possesses consciousness, and represent me to bring this thank-you letter as well as my final treasure to her as a token of gratitude..."

Solomon hesitated for a split second. Subsequently, he turned around and returned to that dilapidated black house, carefully bringing out a sparkling pink gemstone like a star. Along with it was a cleanly and neatly wrapped envelope beneath that gemstone.

Following closely, Solomon continued saying to Fisher,

"If she hasn't awakened, it doesn't matter either. Just place these two items inside... I am bound by the pact, unable to approach the residences of the Demon Gods acting as my masters. I can only rely on you for this matter. As a reward, I am willing to tell you all I know regarding the Demon Dynasty, a guest like you will certainly be interested."

Fisher hesitated for a moment, not immediately accepting the two items he handed over. But conversely turned his head to look towards the architecture he just mentioned.

Yet he saw that architecture wasn't considered too majestic. Although it could also be called a "palace" in the traditional sense, but contrasting the other architectures Fisher saw here earlier, this palace appeared extremely unsophisticated.

Furthermore, Fisher also noticed, this was the only palace he saw here equipped with fences.

"The Demon God you mentioned originally resided here?"

"Ah, that's right."

"But you obviously came to the Demon Dynasty before they were sealed. Could it be you have never seen this Demon God?"

"To speak frankly... no. The majority of the powerful Demon Gods among them I have seen, yet exclusively this Demon God..."

Solomon also looked towards this unsophisticated palace, speaking somewhat regretfully,

"Legend has it this Demon God is the Demon God in charge of war. Possibly because I wasn't proficient in this path, therefore I never obtained her response... Hehe, but in my impression, there has never been anyone who summoned her out either... Demon God Eliog, I also very much wish to gaze upon her greatness, it's just a pity..."

"..."

Fisher and Eimhart froze slightly simultaneously. And simultaneously turned their heads anew, looking towards this aged man skinny as a skeleton beside them.

Chapter 583: Eliog

"..."

This sudden silence from Fisher and Eimhart made the Solomon beside them inevitably produce a bit of a misunderstanding. He even thought it was because Fisher had some misgivings about entering the residence of a Demon God, so he hastily added another sentence,

"No need to worry about danger. With the blockade of the great Mother Goddess, even if they are still awake, they absolutely won't be your opponent, not to mention I'm still not certain about this Lord Demon God's condition... Speaking of which, I'm still not clear what purpose the guest came here for. If there's anything you need help with or need to understand, you can also ask me first. I will spare no effort to answer for you, just..."

"No, he's actually not worried about danger arising from entering. After all, they can be considered to have a bit of... history, that kind of history. Oh, that's not right either. There is still some danger, especially since he also brought along another female whose relationship with him is not shallow. Who knows if they run into each other, will they..."

"I accept your request." Fisher patted Eimhart on his shoulder who was busy Clicking His Tongue in Wonder, bringing the increasingly confused Solomon back to reality. Only then did he continue saying, "Do you know what's going on with the Gate of Victory? I also had two companions traveling with me, but now that I've entered, they've vanished without a trace, and I also couldn't see where the gate leaf I entered from is."

Solomon blinked his eyes and replied,

"Ah, I didn't expect you came in from the main gate. You probably were influenced by the scrolls Left behind by my younger self, right? Back then, I was imparted some mysterious knowledge across space by a Demon God named 'Baimon', therefore I recorded them on the scrolls. But actually, those main gates are virtually impossible to open. Not only are the existences outside unable to enter, even the demons inside are also unable to leave from there. That's why they had to painstakingly construct Portals on land and within the Dynasty..."

Subsequently, he looked towards the rock wall above that lacked any holes, continuing,

"Those gate leaves actually do not have physical entities both within the Dynasty and outside. When you see the true appearance of that gate leaf, it already means you are trapped in the predicament of the gate leaf. Moreover, even if they passed through the main gate, the location they enter the Dynasty will also be different, just that they are all within this 【Victory】 region, that's all. But this region is truly too vast. It's possible they will be extremely far away from you, and it's also possible they haven't even passed through the gate leaf to arrive here at all.

"If you want to confirm their status, you can conveniently enter the vicinity of Demon God Eliog's fire pillar. Her massive power can cover the entire region behind the Gate of Victory, capable of penetrating the Gate of Victory's blockade to search for their location..."

That is to say, no matter what, he had to go to the place where Eliog resided to Find Out the Truth.

Fisher turned his head to look at that massive architecture, also naturally developing some curiosity towards the residence of that slacker in his impression. Furthermore, he originally came here with the intention of attempting to seek Eliog's help, just didn't know if she had been awakened.

Actually, even up until now, Fisher didn't know how the Eliog back then managed to break through the Mother Goddess's seal, relying on the method of soul projection to travel Traveling Ten Thousand Miles to Naris to hunt Erwind. Although the Eliog back then was only at the Fourteenth-Tier due to soul projection, but ever since establishing the fact that the Mother Goddess used Authority to seal them from the Lord of Fate, he felt that being able to make Eliog leave was also an extremely Unbelievable thing.

After pondering for a moment, he didn't say any other words. Merely bringing Eimhart and the treasure Solomon gave him earlier, he turned around and walked towards Eliog's residence.

Solomon behind him lowered his head, speaking to him extremely gratefully,

"Thank you, thank you, I will wait exactly here for your good news. Please definitely help me deliver that letter to..."

"..."

Fisher leaped up, crossing over the massive gap in the magma sea to arrive before the Castle Eliog built leaning against the rock wall.

The Castle was exactly blocked off by two stone walls. Therefore the scorching hot waves and bright radiance below couldn't illuminate here at all. It was both cool and quiet.

Simply the moment he set foot here, Fisher realized this place was indeed an absolutely excellent location for sleeping. No wonder it was chosen by that lazy demon as a resting place.

"What is the gift he gave you? It's rare he kept it for so many thousands of years uninterruptedly, it should be an extremely valuable treasure, right?"

Eimhart swept a glance at the bright gemstone in Fisher's hand, whereas Fisher merely felt it Carelessly and Casually. As his finger rubbed across the ancient human script engraved above the gemstone, he could clearly perceive the words "Empire's Treasure" engraved upon it.

"It is indeed an exceptionally rare treasure." He pondered for a moment, subsequently saying, "It's a ore used during the Central Empire era to forge weapons. Weapons forged from this kind of ore are very tough, won't shatter easily, and moreover Magic can be repeatedly engraved upon it. I haven't seen many pieces of such things outside either. Most of them should have been brought underground by those venerable monarchs of the Central Empire."

"How rare. I guess he's probably been eating bugs for these several thousand years uninterruptedly? To think he could actually keep this kind of treasure until now..."

"This gift as a token of gratitude is too much. Knowing so much about demons, he shouldn't not know Eliog's disposition. Or rather, even if he didn't know, he should have also guessed Eliog actually never paid attention to him at all, so there wasn't any matter of taking him in to live at the door either."

"Then he still..."

"He might extravagantly hope Eliog helps him with certain matters, especially since he heard the commotion of Eliog's awakening previously."

Fisher shot a glance at the letter given by Solomon clutched in his hand, yet didn't open it. Instead, he quickly arrived before the surrounding wall of Eliog's fortress.

It was mentioned previously, this Castle was the only place he saw here enclosed by fences to prevent others from entering. Now getting closer, he also saw a chain without a lock attached to that fence. Acted as a door bolt, hung a wooden signboard marked with demon language.

The wooden signboard was already very old and dilapidated. Who knew exactly how long it had been hanging in this damned place, and it seemed no one had ever moved this signboard either.

Fisher couldn't read demon language, but Eimhart on his shoulder spoke up,

"'Do Not Disturb, Otherwise Bear The Consequences Yourself'... that's what is written on this signboard."

"...Indeed her style."

Fisher smiled helplessly. Subsequently, he reached out and took down that signboard bearing somewhat the meaning of "Beware Of Vicious Dog Inside, Please Do Not Open Door", unfastening the iron chain, revealing the extremely silent space within.

Eimhart hastily flew into Fisher's bosom to hide, deeply afraid a terrifying-faced female demon would drill out from somewhere.

Fisher helplessly patted him, saying,

"Eliog isn't that terrifying, haven't you seen her?"

"...But I hate demons!"

Fisher spoke no more words, allowing him his waywardness.

The area in front of Eliog's Castle was utterly desolate. There were no decorations, nothing at all, Completely Empty, as unsophisticated as her cold-toned Castle.

Even arriving before the main gate, it was still unimpeded the whole way. Fisher didn't see any locks or any traps at all. He lightly pushed, and the tightly shut gate leaves of that Castle retreated backward a bit of distance.

"Pardon the intrusion."

He murmured softly, slowly walking into the Castle. Following his entry, the expansive room inside the entire Castle instantly brightened, displaying the structure inside before Fisher.

The first thing to enter his vision, was a very large bed.

Yes, it was a bed, placed exactly in the center of the fortress just like that.

"...Huh, quite a strange way of enjoying life."

Eimhart complained a sentence, because that bed visibly looked very high-class. Probably even the beds of angels and elves couldn't compare to this bed before their eyes.

The lightweight quilt made of velvet appeared somewhat messy; it seemed the owner here didn't have the habit of tidying the bed. Upon a leather-wrapped soft mat were many, many pillows of varying sizes. Among them were ones made of jade, wooden pieces...

Mm, wait, why does this pillow feel somewhat familiar?

Fisher walked precisely to the side of that bed, yet saw a tiny pillow placed on the quilt, simply identical to the one he had in his Naris Laboratory... No, it's better to say, this seemed to be exactly that one from his Naris Laboratory!

This guy, when did she sneak away his pillow?

He turned his head again to look at other places besides the bed. Very quickly, he saw scattered various clothing items beside the bed. Because Fisher had once personally undressed them, therefore he certainly remembered these things were all Eliog's belongings.

It seemed after she left Naris back then, she indeed returned here. From these personal items filled with individual flair, this point could be seen.

But back then she walked outside in a soul form, and shouldn't have thrown off the Mother Goddess's seal. Therefore after returning, she probably would still enter the sealed state...

Then, where is her physical body right now?

Fisher placed the gift brought by Solomon on the short cabinet by the bed. Subsequently, he led Eimhart to walk towards the depths of the Castle, because those clothes faded by Eliog weren't scattered together, but extended towards the depths of the Castle one piece following another.

Then, Eliog probably headed towards that direction in the end.

Like a little mouse attracted by pieces of cheese, Fisher also followed Eliog's clothes piece by piece walking towards a certain direction.

The interior of the Castle was bare, not undergoing any decorations at all. It seemed the owner here also didn't have excess thoughts to manage the place she resided in, allowing decay to grow within.

But very quickly, many things that brightened Fisher's eyes appeared.

Behind the Castle's grand hall, upon the walls and shelves, were completely filled with various weapons and armor.

From the lower-level human, demi-human, and Dragon-kin armor, to the higher-level complete set of armor tainted with the aura of angel Holy Artifacts and the fragrance of elf vegetation and trees.

Among them, many pieces of armor didn't lack obvious traces of being slashed and hacked by blades and soldiers. Moreover, some even carried bloodstains that had dried who knew when.

Compared to a collection, these things actually looked more like trophies.

Below each piece of armor was placed one or several weapons, either snapped at the waist or completely shattered. It still possessed complete sets of all styles, respectively corresponding to the armor above. It seemed these things were the weapons held by the owners of these armors back then. But regardless of whether they were mortal weapons or divine artifacts, all of them were snapped by some kind of terrifying immense force, turning into the dead silence exhibited here.

"Buzz buzz buzz..."

The shadows of the weapons and armors accumulated in the darkness caused tinnitus to surface beside Fisher's ears. Faintly amongst them, a speck of weak light resembling candle fire ignited his side profile, attracting his attention over.

Yet opposite these "trophies," was a unique wooden rack, with three weapons placed upon it.

Placed at the very bottom, was a giant hammer; placed in the middle, was a scimitar wrapped by a leather scabbard; and placed at the very top, was a pitch-black Longspear flashing with cold glints.

That scimitar in the middle Fisher still recognized. That was exactly the weapon Eliog held when she came to Naris back then.

That is to say, these three weapons were actually all used by her.

And behind the spot displaying the three weapons, was a tiny fire pillar, roughly the thickness of a rope, extending from beneath the Castle.

Within this pitch-black rear chamber of the Castle, the faint light emitted by that fire pillar was exactly the sole light source, illuminating what Fisher saw just now.

Almost instantly, Fisher's gaze was attracted by that fire pillar. The closer he got to that fire pillar, the more he felt irritable, as if his blood was about to burn up, wanting to find something to fight, even wanting to yank out Eimhart in his bosom and slap him a few times.

This kind of bellicose emotion that saw everything as unpleasant caused Fisher to freeze slightly. Subsequently, he hastily took several deep breaths, and only then did that restlessness within his inner heart alleviate slightly.

And even the Mythical Rank Fisher could feel this sensation, let alone Eimhart in his bosom who wasn't even a match for an ordinary human.

Sensing something wasn't right, he hastily flew out, retreating a very long distance backward, saying to Fisher,

"No good, no good, you still go yourself, I will just wait for you outside... The aura of this group of demons makes me... very uncomfortable, I don't want to to be influenced by their power and turn into a lunatic..."

"...Alright, you wait for me outside, I will be careful."

Eimhart carefully shot a glance at the Pressing Forward Indomitably Fisher, seemingly with worry in his eyes. But upon thinking that woman's relationship with Fisher also wasn't ordinary, even if there was danger it was an exquisitely wonderful danger, what exactly was he worrying blindly for.

Hence he very quickly turned his head without hesitation, flying out of the Castle in a puff of smoke to go outside and blow in the wind.

Within the Castle, Fisher slowly walked toward that tiny fire pillar swaying in the darkness. After getting slightly closer, he only then discovered, upon that fire pillar spreading from beneath the ground, continuously twisted overlapping yet seemingly imperceptible "∞" symbols.

This was the seal placed upon her?

Fisher also wasn't clear what state the sealed Demon Gods would be in. But hearing what Solomon said, after the Mother Goddess applied the seal, everything here became extremely silent. So they probably couldn't leave this place, and their consciousness wouldn't be very clear either.

And if the seals on all the Demon Gods were exactly like Eliog's, then exactly how did Erwind conduct research on Agreas back then?

By researching this fire pillar?

Furthermore, Fisher also completely didn't know how the Eliog from earlier managed to conduct soul projection to temporarily leave this place. Now, how should he himself awaken her...

Fisher hesitated for a moment. But exactly suddenly, he seemed to feel a bit of a familiar aura from the fire pillar before his eyes. It was a kind of thirst seemingly originating from the depths of the soul.

"This is..."

Fisher very quickly realized exactly how Eliog let her soul escape back then. Because what he felt upon Eliog's main body at this moment, was a sensation entirely identical to the side effects after reading the Soul Completion Handbook and obtaining Chaotic Knowledge.

He hesitated for a split second. Subsequently, he resolutely extended his right hand that was increasingly bright and completely full of Mana Circuits, gently touching upon that swaying, rope-like fire pillar.

In the instant of contact, an extremely powerful sensation of absorption erupted at Fisher's palm.

He bit his teeth somewhat painfully, but still forcefully propped himself up to continuously supply his soul's power into this fire pillar.

The fire pillar grew increasingly brighter, until the continuously lingering ∞ symbols above also grew slightly dimmer.

Fisher panted and withdrew his right hand. Subsequently, as if to confirm, he looked at the fire pillar before his eyes anew...

Seemed like, the light of this fire pillar became slightly more solidified?

Fisher also didn't know. He merely felt a full amount of magic far exceeding his soul's capacity at the Fourteenth-Tier was extracted from him. He had already entered the Mythical Rank. Although it wasn't fatal, it still made him extremely uncomfortable.

His soul began squirming restlessly anew, but he still forcefully endured that same feeling of thirst, somewhat hesitantly extending his hand towards that fire pillar...

In the next moment, his right hand surprisingly submerged straight into that fire pillar.

His pupils constricted slightly, subsequently reaching his other hand into that fire pillar as well.

Inside that narrow fire pillar, all Fisher felt was the perfectly right amount of heat. His hands were wrapped within it. Also exactly at this moment, that restlessness originating from the depths of his soul gradually quieted down. Following closely, he seemed to have grabbed onto a certain physical entity.

He pulled gently, pulling out a gradually solidifying nude body from within that fire pillar.

He panted and retreated a step backward. His hands supported the physical entity condensed from the soul pulled out from that narrow fire pillar, carefully scrutinizing her. But because after she left that fire pillar, the light of that fire pillar became slightly dim, thus Fisher couldn't see clearly. He could only use other senses to perceive her existence.

At this moment, staying in his embrace, was an unclothed beauty.

Even as a soul, she also possessed an iconic, wheat-colored skin and muscles tempered through training. The touch felt both firm and scorching. Because she lost consciousness, her face drooped slightly. A head of red hair seemingly wet by water extending to her shoulders was also draped down, threading alongside Fisher's fingertips supporting her shoulders.

She tightly closed her eyes. Amidst the regular inhalation and exhalation, from the gap between her slightly glowing cheeks brought a bit of fuel burning smell that wasn't considered pungent.

Her face wasn't cute or enchanting, only leaving behind the valiant posture polished by the years. At her glabella, amidst her red fringe's fragmented hair, four twisted, obsidian-like curved horns grew irregularly. Slightly different from her appearance when Fisher first met her. Faintly amongst them flickered traces of veins nourished by magma...

Feeling the warmth in his embrace, that exhaustion and thirst from soul emptiness within Fisher's body became Completely Clean, just like having been washed by rainwater.

Perhaps at this moment Fisher also had to admit his strange hobby. Otherwise, why would he feel Refreshed and Invigorated upon seeing her, even capable of ignoring the exhaustion of his soul?

"Eliog..."

This familiar calling seemed like an alarm clock waking up a sleeping kitten. After Fisher's words sounded, he suddenly felt the person in his embrace abruptly tremble. Subsequently, keeping her eyes closed, her head seemed to reach toward Fisher uncontrollably, sniffing his scent.

"Sniff sniff..."

A moment later, seemingly having smelled some pleasant and familiar scent, she still kept her eyes closed. Yet from the depths of her throat transmitted a vibrating sensation,

"Purr purr purr..."

She comfortably rubbed against Fisher's embrace. Subsequently, Sleepy-Eyed and Half-Asleep and Half-Awake, she opened one of her eyes. That soft tail resembling an arrowhead carrying a faint flame behind her also gently wrapped around Fisher's waist. Subsequently, with a "pop", she wanted to pierce into it, but failed because of Fisher's hard body at this moment.

Her eyes were bright like coiled fire snakes, yet they still carried dense sleepiness. She arduously scrutinized the person before her eyes. Subsequently, she violently yawned, mumbling,

"...Woke up too fiercely aww, seeing that Baimon's mark surprisingly on the person I'm seeing, gonna sleep a bit more ba purr purr purr..."

"..."

She closed her eyes again preparing to sleep, but Fisher hugging her abruptly turned stiff all over. A layer of dense sweat beads also popped out on his forehead due to his empty soul.

That's right, how did he forget about this matter!

Chapter 584: Adding Chaos to Chaos

"..."

When Fisher remembered that he had Baimon's mark on his body, the Eliog he was holding changed from the originally cute demon girl like a kitten into an extremely scorching Hot Potato, making his movement of holding her extremely stiff, hard to move.

If Eliog's first sentence upon waking up wasn't this, perhaps Fisher wouldn't be this nervous. After all, his relationship with Eliog was relatively subtle. Among official demons, he only exclusively knew this one (Helaire didn't count at all). Although they had skin-to-skin intimacy, this feeling wasn't as passionate as with Raphaela and the others, but merely always lingered in his inner heart without dissipating.

Perhaps in Fisher's heart, Eliog wouldn't even care about his relationship with other ladies. Back when he was in Naris, she even encouraged him to release the heavily accumulated desires within his body. So when deciding to come to the Demon Dynasty to seek Eliog's help, he didn't even act cautiously regarding a potentially occurring Scene of Fierce Conflict, otherwise he wouldn't have agreed to bring Jasmine along.

But when Eliog spoke out this sentence related to Helaire while Sleepy-Eyed, Fisher acutely perceived a trace of hostility in her words. Like having a nightmare that disgusted people, full of anger yet having nowhere to vent it out because it was a dream...

Of course, Fisher was very clear, all of this was about to turn into Reality.

She seemed dissatisfied that he had Helaire's mark on his body. And now, the In a Dilemma Fisher holding her couldn't help but enter a brief brainstorm.

But evidently, the temporary daze just now was merely a momentary negligence of Eliog, this Demon God who had slumbered for a long time. As the Demon God in charge of war, she possessed an acute reaction like instinct.

Yet he saw in his embrace, the expression of the Eliog who had just closed her eyes again preparing to sleep comfortably froze slightly. Like Realizing After the Fact, her nose sniffed slightly. The arrowhead tail wrapped around Fisher's waist also wrapped tighter and tighter, as if confirming the existence of his physical entity.

Within Fisher's peripheral vision, the flame on her arrowhead tail also grew larger and larger from the size of a fingertip, until transforming to the size of two tennis balls before barely stopping...

And this also meant, her mind was becoming increasingly clear.

In the next moment, the "purr" sound transmitting from the depths of her throat came to an Abrupt End. Following closely, her previously closed eyes also slowly opened simultaneously, flashing with a bright color like magma, locking eyes with the Fisher who was lowering his head looking at her.

"Awwroo, Fisher?"

After a moment of silence, she yawned again, speaking like this.

"Good morning, Eliog."

"..."

After she nodded, she didn't respond. Instead, taking advantage of that slightly parted lips movement, she took a bite on his chest. Although those scorching teeth didn't break through his defense, it made Fisher feel slight pain. But he didn't let go of her. Waiting until her own body struggled slightly, Fisher only then released his hands, allowing her to land lightly on the ground. Tapping both feet on the scorching Castle ground, she stretched.

Behind, the fire pillar formed by her main body continued to sway uninterruptedly. The faint light brought by the fire within fell upon her back, like a total solar eclipse leaving behind a Heroic And Valiant Posture yet unclad shadow for Fisher.

Within the backlight's darkness, Fisher perceived Eliog's state warming up bit by bit, thoroughly awakening from that muddled slumber. She gently used her foot to pick up a piece of undergarment that had fallen to the ground nearby, grasping it in her hand and draping it over her body.

"You guy are not behaving outside aww, how come you have that guy's mark on your body? Where is mine?"

Eliog turned her head, leaning slightly closer to the Fisher standing motionless in place. She scrutinized the place she just opened her mouth and bit. That place still had bursts of pain, like being splashed by a mouthful of magma.

It was exactly within that scorching rendering, the mark Fisher saw previously overbearingly dictating the traces of "Baimon", and below that mark there were a little bit of "remains" of Eliog's mark, obviously revealing exactly upon what ruins this mark fell down upon.

That bite from Eliog just now was perfectly spot on biting down on Helaire's mark. Seemed like she was unhappily trying to bite and tear that mark apart, therefore Fisher felt the pain. That pain originated from the soul.

But after she retreated backward slightly, she only then discovered that Helaire's mark remained firm, completely uninfluenced by her power, even the color didn't fade it. Like mockery, it landed on Fisher's chest, looking at Eliog and mercilessly mocking her.

"This mark..."

Fisher shot a glance at the mark on his chest, for a moment also appearing somewhat helpless, because he didn't know how to answer this question from Eliog.

To speak truthfully, he didn't know exactly when Helaire left this mark on him. If it was in the past, back then even demons hadn't been born yet, the still-angel Helaire mostly wouldn't recognize this mark belonged to a demon from the future. But if it was left before returning to the past, he also didn't know when he had close contact related to Helaire.

But could he possibly say this mark had nothing to do with him, and he himself also didn't know?

But his relationship with Helaire was indeed not shallow. Saying this was obviously to Avoid the Important and Focus on the Trivial, and he also didn't want to do so.

"I also don't know what left this mark. Possibly when she was by my side..."

"When Baimon was by your side?"

"Ah, previously..."

"So it's like this aww... while I was sleeping?"

"...It is indeed like this."

"Then what did you guys do?"

"What?"

"Did she give you her Blessing aww?"

"Blessing?"

"Then, gave you Demonic knowledge?"

"Probably not, but when I entered the Mythical Rank she gave me some hints."

"And then she just gave her mark to you aww... even engraving it on top of my mark?"

Within her seemingly Careless and Casual inquiry, the phrasing on "my mark" grew heavier.

"..."

The Eliog at this moment began to gradually depart from that lazy, don't-care state in Fisher's previous impression. Although she was still merely scrutinizing while inquiring towards Fisher, Fisher's peripheral vision acutely saw the giant hammer at the very bottom of the weapon rack in front of the fire pillar begin to tremble slightly. Like always waiting to be swung to stir up a storm, seemingly like a kind of reaction to her mood at this moment.

Perhaps Fisher also wasn't some veteran demonologist, unclear about many demon matters. He might know how demons came to be, what properties they had, yet he knew remarkably little about this species' culture, even a lot of contents came from Eimhart.

Therefore, he also didn't know what exactly this mark meant to demons. He could only ask towards Eliog,

"...Is this mark, very important? But I didn't feel anything at all, even to the point of not knowing it existed."

"Buzz buzz..."

That giant hammer behind Eliog buzzed loudly, yet she merely thoughtfully shuffled a few steps towards him. Subsequently using her hand to rub forcefully against his chest a few times, yet only making the "Baimon" mark increasingly brighter.

That light was shiny green, shining upon Eliog's glabella and hair tips, provoking her expression to grow increasingly displeased, almost about to spew fire,

"This mark will only be presented before the eyes of demons. That is to say, besides demons, there isn't any existence that will discover her traces. This kind of mark has grades aww, there are three grades, respectively 【Food】, 【Blessed One】, 【Favored One】... Even if it's merely a general Food mark, once marked, other guys absolutely cannot make a move against them, otherwise it is provocation and declaring war. Moreover, what I landed on your body back then was the highest-grade Favored One mark aww..."

As Eliog spoke so faintly, Fisher suddenly remembered a matter back when escaping Naris due to this.

Back then when he and Jasmine's group were escaping Naris deep within Serpent's Head Street relying on the Demon Attendant's boat, because he possessed Depravity Resistance given by the Demi-Human Completion Handbook, therefore when extracting Fallen Self-Nature as the boat fare, no matter how much they extracted they couldn't extract anything.

Back then, seeing them so pitiful, he proposed a suggestion allowing them to extract Fallen Self-Nature again. But back then they refused. One of the Demon Attendants even said a meaningful sentence,

"According to the rules of demons, when Grand Demons leave a mark on a person, it means you belong to her. Our extracting Fallen Self-Nature according to the transaction is to a certain extent already offending her... if it wasn't Lord Eliog, but other petty Demon Gods, I'm afraid they would have already gotten angry by now."

So it turned out back then Eliog had already left a mark on his body. Therefore, if they didn't absolutely have to extract Fallen Self-Nature as a boat fare, they perhaps wouldn't even dare make a move against him. Otherwise it would be a provocation against Eliog...

Then, for Helaire to wipe off her mark, and even struttingly engrave her own mark above it, isn't this practically riding on Eliog's head...

He opened his mouth, looking at the expressionless Eliog before his eyes, asking with somewhat of a brain short-circuit,

"Then what grade of mark did she leave on my body?"

"...Also Favored One."

"..."

Eliog fell silent for a moment. Those words grew increasingly faint, but the saltpeter aura carried with it also grew slightly denser, like exactly needing just a bit more heat to reach Explosion.

And on the weapon rack behind her, very quickly it was no longer just the giant hammer at the very bottom. Even the scimitar in the middle began swaying slightly.

"Previously it was you who let me out aww?"

"Ah, it's like this, Eliog..."

Fisher thought he caught an opportunity, getting ready to lead into the main topic first. This way he could also divert Eliog's attention right now. But she completely didn't give the opportunity, merely turning her head to look at the faint fire pillar main body behind her, saying,

"Back then, Agreas exactly relied on Baimon's method to temporarily release my soul from the main body. This process requires expending a massive amount of soul power. Even that guy Baimon expended the majority of her soul aww, making her incredibly weak, only then letting my soul walk in a posture prior to the Mythical Rank... Although you borrowed Chaos power to enter the Mythic, and your soul power is also slightly stronger than an ordinary Mythic, but right now presumably you have also run out of ammunition and food aww..."

Fisher hadn't even figured out the meaning within her words, yet saw her abruptly turn her head to look towards himself.

Those bright eyes like coiled fire snakes pierced sharply, conjuring a terrifying unworldly fire pillar out of thin air within Fisher's mind, intending to occupy the thoughts he was occupying at this moment.

In the next second, Eliog instantly appeared by Fisher's side. Her left and right hands resembled two swimming dragons, attacking from angles Fisher had never anticipated.

Even looking with his Mythical Rank observation ability, Eliog's attack at this moment was Flawless And Invulnerable, let alone he was currently in a state of soul emptiness.

Thus, he lost his balance without the slightest bit of power to resist, Very Easily hoisted up, leaning against her shoulder wearing only a bit of sheer attire.

"Eliog, wait..."

"That guy, relying on the fact that she could freely walk outside with her main body, surprisingly dared to carelessly wipe off my mark. To think I in a soul state surprisingly couldn't erase her mark... You guy are also not behaving aww, previously having so many desires, surely you were played in the palm of that guy's hand, already losing your bearings long ago."

Unexpectedly, the Eliog who just expended an extremely massive amount of soul power to rescue would suddenly change her previous laziness and become so overbearing at this moment. This made Fisher somewhat Unexpected. And what made him even more Unexpected, was that she was now surprisingly walking in large strides straight toward the bed in the grand hall ahead. Evidently, that was her destination.

"Wait, Eliog..."

"Thump!"

She threw Fisher onto the bed from afar. During this process, she uninterruptedly used her arm to siphon Fisher's soul power. Furthermore, Fisher also bizarrely felt the desire to resist within his inner heart continuously diminishing. As if completely losing the bellicose sensation, becoming listless.

It was exactly under such a dual physical and psychological weakening, Fisher was surprisingly thrown onto Eliog's bed without any power to resist.

The thing he just saw exactly came in handy right now. It was truly a coincidence and convenient, congratulations congratulations...

But Fisher didn't have the slightest leeway to catch a breath. Even if that bed was more comfortable, at this moment he didn't have excess mind to enjoy it. Because closely following, he felt Eliog also bully her way up identically, fiercely pinning him beneath her body via Suppression Magic,

"Shh..."

The light within the Castle gradually dimmed, as if everything was extracted by the terrifying Demon God before his eyes.

Within the darkness, only those bright red eyes of hers and the high-raised tail behind her were that conspicuous, about to ignite Fisher's soul.

Amidst the tight oppression, everything Fisher wanted to speak out was barely blocked off by her extended palm. Only that not quite pungent yet bizarrely very pleasant-smelling saltpeter smell gradually occupied the marrow of his spirit.

Her hand landing on Fisher's nose and mouth couldn't block his breathing. Thus it was pushed by his breath to retreat downwards little by little, from the neck all the way to that place where Helaire left the mark.

At the same time, her gaze flickered, her tone eerie...

"To think that guy dared to remove my mark, truly daring... you better be a bit obedient, right now I am a bit...

"No, I am extremely unhappy aww."

Fisher gulped down a mouthful of saliva, attracted by the increasingly vigorous flame of desire swayed by the arrowhead tail behind her. Like wanting to make him recall anew the shape of the Demon God named "Eliog".

"Buzz buzz buzz!"

At this moment, within the demon region behind the Gate of Victory, from the top of the giant cave once again manifested a illusory gate leaf out of thin air.

Very quickly, from above that gate leaf rapidly fell a Whale-kin wearing Golden Armor holding a Golden Longsword.

It was exactly the Whale-kin Jasmine traveling with Fisher. At this moment, she had also passed through the Gate of Victory to arrive within the Demon Dynasty.

She swayed her body slightly in midair. Subsequently fiercely twisting the balance of her body, she plummeted onto a black reef above the magma.

After landing, she also very quickly perceived the Little Demons doing roundabouts behind the reefs all around.

Her process of passing through the Gate of Victory was considered smooth. Merely unlike Fisher, she didn't see a transformed self, merely seeing a gate leaf covered entirely in frost.

The unfamiliar environment all around made her grow increasingly vigilant. But after looking around, aside from a huge Castle with fences and a small black house not far away, she surprisingly didn't see Teacher Fisher's figure.

"Fisher! Teacher Fisher! Where are you?"

After calling several times Fisher didn't reply to her. Only after several tens of seconds later, did an emaciated human figure with a hunched body wrapped entirely in bandages slowly walk out from that small black house.

That human figure swept a glance at the Whale-kin descending from the sky not far away. Relying on walking a distance towards her direction supporting a cane after a moment, calling towards her,

"Guest... this guest..."

Jasmine noticed the human figure in the distance. After hesitating for a moment, she still leaped towards that direction holding her Longsword, arriving before him,

"Guest... hello..."

"Apologies, I still have other matters to attend to."

"Are you looking for someone?"

Jasmine froze slightly, subsequently opening her mouth to ask,

"Have you seen anyone else besides me? And you are..."

"Ah, I'm merely an insignificant lowly person... But if you are looking for a Mythical Rank human accompanying a book-shaped talking angel Holy Artifact, I just saw him."

"Really? Then where is he?"

Joy blossomed in Jasmine's heart, but yet she hadn't completely lowered her guard, maintaining an expressionless face as she continued inquiring.

"Just over in that direction. Previously I had some matters needing his help, so I invited him into Demon God Eliog's fortress..."

"Eliog... Demon God?"

"Ah, the current her is slumbering. The guest can also go over there to rendezvous with your companions."

"Many thanks."

Jasmine shot a skeptical glance toward that direction. Subsequently, she leaped a great distance toward that side, scrutinizing the situation over there from afar, deeply afraid it was some trap.

But very quickly, she discovered a square-shaped book Bored to Death spinning around at the cliff edge of that fortress.

"Sir Book Artifact!"

Joy appeared on Jasmine's face. Since Eimhart was here, then Teacher Fisher was definitely also inside there.

She thought about quickly going over to rendezvous with Teacher Fisher and the others, yet didn't realize the magma beside that fortress began growing increasingly boiling and scorching, like restlessness gathering momentum preparing to erupt...

Just waiting for Jasmine's arrival to create Adding Chaos to Chaos.

Chapter 585: Fight

"Sir Book Artifact!"

At this moment, Eimhart, who was very unnaturally conducting "on-site inspection" beside Eliog's Castle, heard a calling sound transmitting from not far away.

He froze slightly, subsequently turning his head to look in the other direction facing the cliff. He then saw Jasmine wearing Golden Armor leaping towards this side,

"Jasmine?"

"Clack!"

Jasmine's movements were agile. Compared to the earth-shattering commotion like a meteorite hitting the ground when Fisher came down just now, her movements were as silent as a light feather. Only the eye-catching Golden Armor on her body produced a slight crisp collision sound due to inertia.

Eimhart swept a glance up and down at the Golden Armor on her body, which was unsophisticated without any decorations yet fully practical. This wasn't his first time seeing such armor. The Whale-kin who originally preferred lying flat and staying at home actually didn't have the concept of "armor". But because of a certain unique Whale-kin, such items inevitably left traces in various parts of the world. Eimhart had also once seen many styles of Golden Armor depicted on ruins.

However, this was his first time seeing Jasmine wearing such armor. It seemed somewhat incompatible with her gentle temperament.

Only after she landed, and that Golden Armor retracted one by one into her hair clip, did the Jasmine familiar to Eimhart completely return,

"Sir Book Artifact, where is Teacher Fisher? Is he not with you?"

"He... uh, well..."

Eimhart was somewhat Hesitating To Speak. After hesitating for a moment, he turned his head to shoot a glance at the Castle standing in the shadow of the mountain behind him. Subsequently, he changed the subject and said,

"To think you unexpectedly arrived so quickly. Fisher was just saying earlier he was going to look for your location. He was worried you and that Carduan were trapped inside that whatever gate. After all, it also took us some effort to get in..."

"That... was alright actually, I didn't encounter any obstruction. Seemed like someone inside that gate was guiding me, I listened to her instructions and came in."

"She? That's not right. The one Fisher and I encountered was a female, how come the one you encountered was also a female? Shouldn't it all be opposite versions of themselves?"

Jasmine didn't understand Eimhart's doubts, she merely tilted her head and said,

"Not really. Moreover, actually I didn't see anyone at all. It was just as if someone was reminding me in some strange language beside my ear on how to exactly go. It's just a bit strange, I clearly had never heard that language before, yet I could understand what that girl meant."

"Hmm, could it be everyone sees something different..."

Jasmine also wasn't clear, but anyway she was already inside. She was more concerned right now about where Teacher Fisher was,

"So, where is Teacher Fisher? Didn't you say he was looking for my location."

Eimhart's square body stiffened slightly. After waiting for a second, he finally sighed, saying to Jasmine,

"Alright, he's currently... precisely inside that Demon God Eliog's Castle behind me. That Demon God's power covers the entire region here, and moreover she has a bit of... history with Fisher previously. So Fisher went in to see if he could find your locations, and conveniently see if he could seek her help."

What Jasmine didn't notice was that Eimhart used a slightly heavier phrasing seemingly intentionally or unintentionally on the word "history", seemingly reminding her of something.

If it were other females, they probably could understand the profound meaning of Eimhart's reminder at this moment. It was just a pity Jasmine wasn't other females. She merely nodded, subsequently preparing to walk towards the direction of that Castle.

After walking a good distance away, she then turned her head back somewhat confusedly to look at Eimhart who was still floating in place, asking in confusion,

"Is Sir Book Artifact not coming?"

"...Haha, you go ahead, I'm fine right here, haha..."

"Eh, but why?"

"I'm hot."

Jasmine also didn't know whether Eimhart would feel hot or not. Although she possessed the knowledge of forging angel Holy Artifacts gifted by Xuan Can, conscious Teardrop Relics were not among the ranks of this knowledge.

She could only treat Eimhart's words as truth. Although doubtful, she still respected his wishes, walking alone towards the enclosed Castle in the distance.

Stepping past the already opened fence, Jasmine noticed the wooden signboard tossed onto the ground. And going further forward, the main gates of the Castle were left ajar, seemingly confirming Fisher indeed entered from here previously. But because the obsidian giant gates of the Castle were truly too heavy, even if they were left ajar it was still sufficiently enclosed, making Jasmine unable to see or hear the situation inside.

She gently reached out and stroked that nearly closed gate leaf, feeling the temperature above but didn't immediately push open the door. She turned around to shoot a glance at Eimhart hiding emotionlessly near the rocks outside in the distance. Her brain still hadn't processed exactly why he was unwilling to follow her over.

But at this moment, the movements of her physical body were faster than her thoughts. Her hand had already taken a step ahead to push that gate leaf open.

Ghostly light flickered inside the Castle, carrying a faint saltpeter smell that permeated into Jasmine's nose, as if opening a door leading to a new world.

And then closely following, the first thing to submerge into Jasmine's sight was an outerwear piece fluttering over, lightly landing in front of her who just entered the door, making her instantly dumbfounded in place, as if her brain marrow was about to shrivel up.

This was Teacher Fisher's clothing?

At this moment, the thoughts in her barren brain also gradually became sluggish, only able to instinctively identify exactly whose clothing on the ground this belonged to.

It was exactly at the instant she identified this clothing, that Jasmine's neck became extraordinarily sluggish like a rust-mottled mechanism that had undergone who knew how many years. By the time she stiffly, bit by bit raised her head, only then did she take the scene inside the dim Castle before her eyes into her view.

Yet she saw within the grand hall of this Castle, the first thing to enter sight, was a large bed that looked comfortable to lie on at a glance placed by some shameless person who knows who.

On that large bed, upon the slightly sunken soft mattress, Jasmine saw the back figure of a red-haired woman sitting upright. She wore only a sheer thread from head to toe, seemingly overbearingly sitting on top of something.

Behind her Heroic And Valiant Posture resembling a female general, an agile arrowhead tail burning with a fireball was swaying slightly.

In the darkness, that tail faintly burning with a bright flame was like a venomous snake flicking its tongue. After Jasmine entered, its movement paused slightly, bizarrely watching her.

And in front of her, or rather underneath her, lay a man leaning against the headboard who appeared lacking any power to resist. Because the clothing was flung to Jasmine's face right upon entering, he was also bare-chested with a robust upper body. If this wasn't Fisher then who else?

"Purr purr purr~"

Within the darkness, a bubbling sound like boiling magma transmitted from within the body of the woman in the superior position on the bed. Identical to Fisher on the bed who seemed to be putting up half-hearted resistance, she froze slightly, simultaneously looking towards the Whale-kin who pushed open the gate leaf and was in a mess in place...

"Jasmine?"

"Teacher Fisher?"

Fisher's whole person was numb right now. He completely didn't expect all of this would abruptly Arrive In Quick Succession, making it difficult for him to cope.

He didn't expect, the Eliog who was clearly obedient and lazy like a cat previously would suddenly turn into a man-eating female demon. And also didn't expect, the Jasmine he originally planned to expend effort to search for would actually unexpectedly appear before his eyes right at this moment...

Uh, just that the timing of her appearance seemed not quite right. It was simply like sparks continuously circling above a gunpowder magazine; the instant it landed it would cause an earth-shattering Explosion.

It was exactly Fisher's Unbelievable voice that made Jasmine confirm his identity, and also made her realize more profoundly exactly how the situation here and now was.

A pink color comparable to cherry blossoms stained her shocked expression bit by bit. She simply felt so ashamed as to want to Hide In A Hole. Standing between the slightly ajar giant doors, she was In A Dilemma, only trembling as she pointed a finger at Eliog saying,

"You... Teacher Fisher... you... you guys are..."

After examining the newcomer clearly, although Eliog's expression still couldn't be considered good-looking, Fisher always felt this expression wasn't as ugly as when mentioning "Baimon".

Hmm, perhaps in Eliog's eyes, Helaire's existence and actions were intolerable.

"...Turned out to be the little Whale-kin in Naris back then aww. It's been so long since we last met, turned out you came together with Fisher... What, want to come punish him together?"

"Punish... punish?"

Jasmine's eyes were almost swaying like Mosquito Coils. She blankly repeated a sentence of Eliog's words, but seeing the situation over there at this moment, evidently she also knew exactly what the so-called "punish" was about.

For some reason, when seeing this scene, an uncontrollable displeasure suddenly popped out from her inner heart. Even though she clearly didn't even know who this demon before her eyes was, this point was completely different from how she handled Raphaela.

After a brief pause, she still blushed. Although she didn't even dare to advance due to that Blood-Pumping scene inside the Castle, she still raised the Longsword in her hand toward that demon while Gnashing Her Teeth, harshly berating Eliog,

"You... you shameless demon! Hurry up and release Fisher! To actually force him to do... do this kind of thing, hurry up and release him!"

Eliog raised an eyebrow. The arrowhead tail behind her also curved aiming at Jasmine, as if showing off her might.

Closely following, she merely gently rubbed a certain spot she sat on over Fisher. Subsequently, those bright eyes like fire snakes became increasingly scorching.

Seemed like, it also didn't count as forcing?

Eliog yawned, seemingly not putting Jasmine in her eyes at all, merely saying,

"Watch closely aww."

"Watch closely wha..."

Jasmine froze slightly. Before she could react to the meaning of Eliog's words, she saw her lazily hold Fisher's chin with one hand. Amidst his shocked expression, pulling up his body shell that was empty inside at this moment, subsequently gently opening those red lips radiating flame light, kissing Fisher in one mouthful as if greedily demanding.

From that kiss, a saltpeter smell possessing a strongly stimulating significance headed straight for Fisher's brain, making him recall anew the existence of the female demon named "Eliog" whom he had been separated from for a long time.

Its excessive, extremely obvious demanding could easily be observed visually and auditorily. And at the same time, Eliog's bright red eyes still continued to look at the completely dumbfounded Jasmine at the doorway, as if heavily outputting while riding on her head.

"Purr purr purr~"

"Pop!"

After over ten seconds passed, Eliog only then abruptly released the Fisher in her embrace. Conveniently licking the corner of her lips, looking at Fisher she said satisfied,

"Sure enough, still got to let you recall my taste to make you behave aww..."

"You... you..."

Even the tip of Jasmine's raised sword trembled slightly. Perhaps Eliog's attack just now was too... too much out of bounds, making this student who had just stepped through the door of a new world not have enough psychological preparation to deal with it.

She seemed to be controlled by the blunt scene she just witnessed with her own eyes, unable to even speak properly.

"What, haven't seen it before? A little surprised aww?"

"Seen..."

"Teacher Fisher aww, no wonder. So after I've slept for so long you are still his student aww, then just right, can let you learn a little... extracurricular knowledge."

Yeah, I am still...

A student?

Jasmine somewhat regretted the wording she spoke due to shock when she first came in now. Under Eliog's faint gaze, she felt her everything seemed to have been analyzed cleanly.

Her near-blank relationship with Fisher, her feeling at a loss when dealing with all of this, her Impotent Rage inside her heart...

But, what was the relationship between this demon and Fisher?

As Sir Book Artifact said, merely just a bit of history?

But looking at it now, even just "this bit of history" was far deeper than her and Fisher's "student-teacher relationship" that Stopped After a Brief Attempt right?

Then what about herself? Is her relationship with Fisher also just "a bit of history"?

Could it be, Sir Book Artifact should also say this when introducing her to others, saying "Jasmine and Fisher, also only have a bit of history"...

Inside Jasmine's Golden Armor, a little bit of profound blackness began spreading out from the tips of her hair, making the flame on Eliog's tail instinctively feel a trace of Baffling And Unaccountable threat and begin to sway slightly.

Jasmine's slightly trembling hands could no longer hold up the sword, she could only lower it temporarily. But that feeling of falling into powerlessness to resist still made her search for other arguments capable of refuting this demon's actions at this moment, for example...

"Raphaela..." Jasmine pursed her lips, even her gaze dodging somewhat as she said, "Raphaela definitely wouldn't allow Fisher to do this!"

"Raphaela? Who's that, is it your name?"

"Eh, no... Raphaela is a Dragon-kin, she and Fish..."

"Oh, so, none of your business aww?"

"I..."

Eliog's gaze was like blades. After this sentence it made her unable to even raise her head even more, and the profoundness on the tips of her hair grew increasingly dense.

And the suppressed Fisher at this moment also realized the severity of the problem. Rapidly detaching from that "Demon's Kiss" just now that almost drained his brain marrow dry.

He began to realize, Eliog's demonic power began taking effect on his body, making him temporarily unable to muster the thought to resist, even wanting to just continue doing it with her like this.

But Jasmine was in front. The Eliog who was just previously stimulated by "Baimon" to the point of her hair turning green was obviously still in a fit of pique. Even if she originally had entirely no hostility towards Jasmine back in Naris, but under the special circumstances right now, this kind of attack was inevitable.

He had to pull himself together, couldn't wait any longer.

Thinking of this, the Fisher suppressed beneath Eliog by her started to restore the soul power on his body as much as possible. He also didn't want to use the Chaos power of the soul to fight against Eliog again, this might expose the matter of him being thoroughly contaminated by Chaos before Jasmine's eyes.

He definitely didn't want to let the already heavily-struck Jasmine now see his body form begin squirming, turning into an inhuman monster.

He had to...

"Eliog..."

He gnashed his teeth, squeezing out calling her name from his throat.

And Eliog also didn't expect the Fisher who was so weak right now could break free from her power. She swayed her tail and turned her head back to look at Fisher. But before she could read the meaning in his eyes, behind her, Jasmine standing at the doorway with her head lowered abruptly spoke in a low voice,

"It's me..."

Eliog turned her head to look at her, yet saw Jasmine panting, as if that profound blackness inside her body had returned to her body anew, becoming quiet.

But this didn't mean she had returned to being weak anew. It didn't mean she had to go seek other excuses like Raphaela or Elizabeth to vent the resentment in her heart right now...

She gradually realized, the thing truly acting up right now wasn't some other reason, but herself, it was her possessiveness indeed!

Yet she saw Jasmine at this moment raise the sword in her hand anew, looking straight at Eliog, as if declaring war as she shouted loudly,

"It is I who do not allow Fisher to do this with you!! Not Raphaela nor anyone else! Fisher is mine!!

"No matter what kind of history you and him had previously, and no matter why you are doing this, but I absolutely do not allow you to do this again!! You shameless demon, hurry up and release Fisher, otherwise I'm going to make you look good!!"

"..."

Eliog looked at the Jasmine who truly walked through the gate leaf for the first time, her eyes becoming extraordinarily resolute. Instead, she licked the corner of her lips with great interest once again, the fireball on her tail also becoming even brighter.

"Buzz buzz buzz!"

At the location of Eliog's main body deep inside the Castle room at this moment, faint trembling sounds slowly transmitted, seemingly the vibration of several sharp weapons.

In the next second, Eliog remained lazy. She merely yawned, saying again,

"I refuse."

"..."

Jasmine's gaze grew cold. That cold glint of the sword blade was almost about to leave her hand. Her whole person also transformed into a preparatory posture about to cleave and chop. Her eyes stared straight at a certain easy-to-cleave part beneath the sheer attire Eliog merely draped on the bed.

Subsequently, she tapped lightly on the ground. Her Longsword and body instantly flashed toward that bed surface in a flash.

Tit for Tat between a Demon God and a Whale-kin. It was simply a rare liveliness within this long-silent Dynasty.

"Bam!"

But exactly in the next second, at this moment of hubbub On The Verge Of Outbreak, behind Eliog, a fiercely erected shadow forcefully grabbed her claw-like hand, locking her tightly in an embrace.

And its other hand fiercely raised, forcibly gripping that blade edge about to reach the bed surface.

A strong gale swept across the room, blowing Eliog's and Jasmine's long hair wildly non-stop.

It was exactly the Fisher who broke free from the demon's power.

Chapter 586: Bullying the Teacher

"Clang!"

Following an intense gale bursting with terrifying force that rolled up the long hair of the two ladies, the entire room also produced an obvious metallic echoing sound due to this spreading strong wind, as if produced by the sword blade rubbing against something extremely tenacious.

But after that, the entire room gradually became quiet anew, leaving behind only a trace of faint panting.

Jasmine froze slightly. The hand raising the Longsword also stiffened in midair, looking at Fisher behind Eliog who used his hand to simultaneously block the Tit for Tat of the two ladies,

"Fisher..."

Yet Eliog, held tightly in his embrace, didn't have any other expression. She didn't even take Jasmine's attack to heart just now. But regarding Fisher being able to simultaneously break free from soul emptiness and her power, Eliog was still somewhat surprised.

But besides this, she merely raised an eyebrow, conveniently leaning against Fisher's embrace behind her. She also stretched with a yawn, looking at Jasmine with an appearance of "so comfortable". That detestable appearance made Jasmine wish she could draw her sword and hack again, just that the tip of the sword was tightly gripped by Fisher making her unable to advance further, that's all.

"You guys... calm down a bit first."

Fisher gnashed his teeth. In his peripheral vision, the palm gripping Jasmine's sword hilt began to squirm restlessly. It seemed the thirsty soul from within the flesh and blood was about to extend along Jasmine's sword toward her. And at the same time, the skin pressed against Eliog also began to tremble, requiring him to expend great effort to control the Chaos within his soul.

"No way! Cannot calm down! And who is this Eliog? Why have I never heard Teacher Fisher mention her? Just now you guys were... absolutely doing that kind of thing right?!"

Jasmine Gnashed Her Teeth looking at the demon in revealing attire with a provocative appearance in front of Fisher. Little did she know Eliog wasn't angry the slightest bit. Instead, she simultaneously sneered slightly, looking at Jasmine saying,

"Although we haven't successfully done it yet, feeling that unpleasant sensation still hasn't passed... aww, speaking of which I'm also a bit curious, that Baimon actually even left a mark on you. Could she possibly view the group of ladies beside you as mattering just as little as I do? Truly uncharacteristic of her..."

"Baimon?"

Jasmine blankly raised her head a little, seemingly extremely unfamiliar with this name as well. Afterwards she blankly looked at Fisher behind Eliog, causing his originally weak forehead to sweat even more.

"Oh my, so you didn't even know who Baimon is?"

"Huh?"

For some reason, Eliog's expression appeared much more relaxed after seeing the increasingly bewildered Jasmine before her eyes. It seemed her previously annoyed mood caused by Baimon right after waking up had improved quite a bit. Even the Tit for Tat brought about by Jasmine Speaking Rudely to her just now lessened considerably...

Although it sounds immoral, but undeniably, when seeing people more miserable than oneself, people's hearts will inevitably produce a bit of comfort, even if it's just a tiny bit.

The webbing between Jasmine's thumb and index finger trembled slightly, feeling the Longsword in her hand was almost slipping away. She stared blankly at the Fisher beside her, asking,

"Baimon... who is that?"

"A Demon God identical to me, and furthermore an extremely loathsome and evil existence... oh, of course, generally speaking, as her Favored One you wouldn't feel this way. The way I see it, those lunatics bestowed knowledge by her all revere her as an angel and a god, not feeling anything wrong with her at all."

Eliog spread her hands. Amidst relaxed words carried a heavily subjective unhappiness. It seemed exactly because her Favored One was snatched away, it made her considerably furious, to the extent that her evaluation was Entirely Different from what she said at the bottom of Nari Lake.

"Then... Teacher Fisher... and her... have done it?"

"..."

Jasmine spoke blankly. And Eliog also stopped speaking. Conversely, she also used her peripheral vision to look at him, her slightly elongated ears also perking up a bit, seemingly identically waiting for his answer.

Well, up until here, even Fisher wasn't clear how the conflict between the two of them seemingly silently vanished, and instead drew the terrifying fierce fire to his side, as if intending to place him on a fire to roast.

But facing the silent questioning of the two ladies, Fisher could also no longer evade. He could only first release Eliog, bracing himself and nodding,

"...I indeed have had skin-to-skin intimacy with her."

"..."

Jasmine opened her mouth wide. Her palm no longer had any strength, Fisher was still gripping the blade end of the Longsword, but she powerlessly let go of the sword hilt, allowing it to drop onto the bed and subsequently slide down to the ground.

And Eliog also unhappily swayed her tail. The flame at the end of that tail expanded a few points once again, becoming extraordinarily bright.

Strange to say, just now when she was questioning Jasmine, she clearly didn't have the feeling of caring the slightest bit. Anyone with a discerning eye could tell she didn't have too obvious hostility towards Jasmine. Conversely, all those hostilities were directed towards Helaire. The words she spoke with Jasmine could probably also only be considered the aftermath of being annoyed with Helaire...

Although from Jasmine's perspective, this aftermath also landed critical hits punch after punch, beating her until she felt pain.

Eliog turned her head to look at Fisher, confirming the state of his body once again. Subsequently saying,

"Hehe, looks like Baimon indeed is like me, taking a great liking to you aww. Such a matter, having lived this long, besides myself I've never heard of it... no wonder. I didn't have the ability to help you enter the Mythic, I could only teach you some combat methods that aren't too suitable for you. Still that Baimon is better isn't it?"

And the entire head of Jasmine's long hair had already begun sliding toward the direction of black, as if she only realized something was wrong until now.

Let's review the other ladies having relationships with Fisher, just talking about the several Jasmine knew, including the Eliog and Baimon she just met just now.

Not to mention Raphaela, forming a Tail-Compatible Partner with Fisher even before herself. Even after being separated for so long, returning was also like newlywed couples. Not only were they together every night, she was even taken by Raphaela to meet her mother.

This Elizabeth was even more of a heavyweight, Fisher's first love from very very long ago. Their progress was unknown to outsiders, but just considering their indescribable tacit understanding and lingering Destiny, Jasmine wouldn't believe it if they didn't secretly Taste the Forbidden Fruit when they were young and inexperienced. Clearly she herself thought so too...

Then, what about that Renee mentioned by Raphaela?

Seemed like she previously heard Raphaela say, a Witch's clothing had once been stored in her husband's (back then Jasmine didn't know it was Fisher) carriage. You have to know that carriage was his dwelling place. Then looking at it at least, they had already entered a state of cohabitation, maybe even very likely like that, so the clothes were...

And Eliog was directly an opening thunderstrike. She hadn't even heard of this person, yet when she came in the clothes were flung to her face, clearly also a habitual offender.

And Baimon?

Teacher Fisher directly admitted from his own mouth, having had skin-to-skin intimacy?

What is skin-to-skin intimacy?

Reviewing a circle down, Jasmine only then barely discovered, seemed like she truly hadn't done anything with Teacher Fisher at all, no progress whatsoever. Just like in a long-distance running race, other competitors had already run more than ten laps, yet she herself hadn't even heard the starting pistol.

Wait, there was also that Captain of Sardin Woman's Country!

Called what... Captain Alajina.

That Captain...

That Captain definitely hadn't had an intimate relationship with Teacher Fisher. They might even just be ordinary friends!

"We can talk about Helaire's matter later. Eliog, we came here to..."

"Helaire? This is Baimon's other name? How intimate aww..."

Eliog pushed with her own hands once again. The expression on her forehead was a Fake Smile. And the Fisher who absolutely didn't understand demons simply stepped on a landmine with every sentence. From initially inquiring about the importance of the mark, to the description of the relationship with Baimon, and now even saying the name of her other compatriots that she didn't know...

But actually Eliog didn't know, he and Helaire still had an even more intimate address "Cupid" that he didn't say. Basically that was the nickname they used when flirting?

However it didn't matter. Right now Eliog's rage meter was already full. Saying any more other things also didn't have any meaning anymore.

"The punishment is still far from over. Even if you want to talk about other matters, I see that little Whale-kin girlfriend of yours also doesn't have such thoughts right now..."

She fiercely spiraled down with her tail, entangling the little Fisher. As if intending to drain away the final trace of rationality and power within his soul.

Subsequently, Eliog paused slightly. Turn her head to look at the Jasmine standing blankly in place behind her, resembling a statue dyed in black...

Eliog thought for an instant. Subsequently hooking her finger at Jasmine, asking,

"How is it, he indeed is very detestable right? That's why he absolutely has to be thoroughly punished properly... seems like you are also very pained right now. Do you want to, punish him together with me?"

At this moment, Eliog seemed to have truly incarnated into the legendary demon that bewitched people's hearts. Or rather, even if Eliog usually preferred sleeping and slacking off, actually the blood flowing in her bones was still this kind of blood. Therefore these words to Jasmine would appear that fatal.

She squeezed her fists. Her gaze seemed to be lifted by Eliog's almost materialized words, forced to look at the extremely weak Fisher on the bed at this moment.

Just now, in order to prevent a conflict from breaking out between Jasmine and Eliog, he forcefully endured not only breaking the weakness of the soul but also breaking free from Eliog's power to resolve the Tit for Tat between the two sides. Now the conflict between the two sides was indeed not that sharp anymore, because all those damn fires had burned onto his body!

At this moment, Fisher's extremely weak appearance seemed entirely different from his usual appearance. Held in the embrace of that detestable demon, enduring the scorching of the fire of desire at every moment, struggling bitterly within that flame. Thus appearing so fragile and inviting bullying...

The Teacher Fisher right now looking like this was truly...

Jasmine gulped down a mouthful of saliva. Perhaps even she hadn't realized, that resentment hidden within her inner heart and the feeling of revenge Unwilling to Be Left Behind made her become increasingly excited. Unable to hold herself back from bullying the rare and delicious Teacher Fisher at this moment like Eliog did.

Anyway...

She couldn't be Teacher Fisher's student every moment right?

But if she wasn't a student, could she also walk such a... path of Bullying the Teacher?

The Golden Armor perfectly stretched out from the hair clip on her body due to raising her sword retracted bit by bit within her hair clip. Including the Longsword that just dropped to the ground also quickly disappeared.

Her breathing grew increasingly hurried. Like Eve drawn by the venomous snake into eating the forbidden fruit in Eden, inevitably walking towards the "Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil" in Eden, about to reach out her hand to pull down the fruit.

"I... want to punish Teacher Fisher?"

Perhaps she should have done this long ago, otherwise she wouldn't encounter setbacks everywhere, allowing such a bad Teacher Fisher to run amok and do evil outside.

Her face flushed slightly, unable to tell if it was shyness or excitement. But the black long hair on her forehead also became sharp like a Curse.

"Jasmine, wait..."

Fisher gnashed his teeth, but Eliog's tail forbade him from further speaking out to stop this "Eve" hesitating beneath the "Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil". Just exactly as Eliog said previously, this was a punishment he deserved, and not quite as comfortable as usually imagined.

"I... I don't know what to do..."

Jasmine was still kindhearted. Fisher's final calling seemed to want to awaken the kindness and simplicity hidden within her inner heart. This sentence that seemed like a question was actually flinching, doubting and thinking of the "bad deed" about to be committed.

But with the "venomous snake" in front, when she walked to here, there was already no path of retreat,

"What do you want to do to your Tea~cher~ Fi~sher~?"

Amidst the words full of saltpeter smell, Eliog's words were filled with seductiveness.

"I... I don't know... but I don't want... like this..."

Eliog gazed intently at her. After a long while, she nonetheless yawned, seemingly seeing through Jasmine. Subsequently shaking her head and saying,

"No, you want to. You merely don't want me by your side, because of the possessiveness within your inner heart you dare not admit, you don't want to share this Once In A Thousand Years opportunity with me... however, giving this opportunity to a pitiful little Whale-kin like you isn't bad either, because my disgust towards Baimon right now has already reached its peak..."

Eliog waved her hand. From the corner of the empty room next door flew over a rack completely filled with various whips and ropes and many other tools. Making Fisher's vision begin to blur from looking at it.

"Everything here is given to you temporarily. What you want to do is decided by yourself, but you'd better not waste this opportunity for punishment."

Jasmine gulped down a mouthful of saliva. Looking at the whip flashing with lightning and the fleshy ropes on that rack, as well as some kind of bottles and jars filled with pink potions, it simply made her horrified just looking at it.

Yet she surprisingly didn't refute. Evidently prodded by Eliog's words exposing the true thoughts in her inner heart.

After hesitating for a moment, she instead asked,

"Then... what are you going to do?"

Eliog stood up and sneered. Subsequently leaping off the bed, picking up and putting on her clothes beside one by one. The light shining with the color of magma seemed about to ignite all things,

"I'm going to prepare a bit of a damn surprise in advance for that Baimon who dared to snatch the person I marked. Additionally I want to understand what exactly happened during this period I slumbered..."

Subsequently, the radiance on her body became extremely obvious, seemingly about to be ignited by magma, about to transform into a soaring meteor to take flight.

"Buzz buzz buzz!"

In the next second, she turned into an illusory firelight and flew towards the outside of the Castle, quickly disappearing without a trace. The Castle's main gates that were slightly ajar just now also violently slammed shut and locked dead, no longer allowing anyone to enter or exit.

"..."

The Castle instantly quieted down, giving Fisher space to temporarily catch his breath. He rubbed his dizzy head. That thirst of the soul became increasingly obvious, making him crave a method of replenishment.

"Teacher Fisher..."

But precisely at this time, the Jasmine standing to the side nonetheless abruptly spoke faintly, violently pulling him back to reality in an instant.

Although the furious Eliog had temporarily left, but by his side there was still a Jasmine who appeared superficially calm, yet who knew how turbulent her inner heart became.

At this moment, she was facing Fisher sideways, staring straight at the wooden rack standing beside the bed. Seemingly hesitating, struggling.

Fisher fell silent for a moment. Words rubbed back and forth within his throat, brewing an explanation to spit out,

"Jasmine, I..."

"No need to speak, Teacher Fisher, I know everything. Actually I have no intention of blaming you..."

Jasmine's words were gentle, yet slowly laid down the stone squeezed in Fisher's inner heart.

She seemed just as Understanding and Considerate as in the past. Not even suffering Eliog's bewitchment, thereby becoming unlike herself.

Yet he saw the long hair on her head polluted by the Curse change from black to blue bit by bit. This was a good sign, resolving quite a bit of the originally dangerous and scorching atmosphere within the room.

"Jasmine, regarding Helaire, she is exactly that Demon God who released the two demons. Previously I and she..."

"Shh, Teacher Fisher, listen..."

Jasmine pursed her lips. Having completely transformed into blue long hair she became extremely normal. In the darkness, Fisher couldn't quite see her expression clearly, only able to feel her gentle words resembling a spring breeze brush across his ears...

But in the next second, amidst Fisher's somewhat Unbelievable gaze, he nonetheless watched helplessly as she gently raised her hand toward that wooden rack, gripping a whip flashing with lightning placed on top.

"..."

Fisher gulped down a mouthful of saliva, immediately dumbfounded on the spot.

Jasmine gripped that whip, subsequently turned her head back with a smile. Bit by bit she faded the Priest outerwear on her body, revealing the casual wear underneath showing an extremely obvious shape. Conveniently asking toward Fisher,

"Did you hear it, Teacher Fisher? My completely unendurable voice..."

"Unendurable?"

"Mm, which is..."

Jasmine's smile was somewhat apologetic, but the Whale-kin long tail behind her nonetheless endure-lessly raised up with extreme excitement. Like revealing the true thoughts in her inner heart,

"The voice that can't hold back anymore from wanting to bully and punish Teacher Fisher right now."

Chapter 587: Eat

"..."

Looking at Jasmine whose expression couldn't clearly tell whether it was excitement or apology, Fisher was also alarmed for a moment. Because he could feel that the Whale-kin girl before his eyes was serious about everything she said, especially the matter of her saying "can't hold back anymore".

Logically speaking, this kind of thing completely didn't count as punishment or bullying to Fisher. Although not as simple as eating and drinking water, it was also a common occurrence, not considered a rare guest. He should also accept it magnanimously.

After all, with Helaire as an example, it wasn't that he couldn't accept female dominance reversing the laws of heaven. It was just that right now his soul was extremely thirsty. He was very worried that a catastrophic mistake would be brewed due to slacking in rationality.

For example, just now he had been doing his utmost to control his soul not to extend outward. His appearance changing was a small matter. Just in case he devoured a part of their soul, that would be something Fisher couldn't accept.

It wasn't that this kind of thing hadn't happened previously. A part of Erwind's soul was devoured by him. At that time, it produced an extremely severe impact on rationality. Not to mention just recently when reading the Life Completion Manual, her shadow still remained within his body.

Furthermore, Fisher also didn't know what kind of fate the other party would suffer after devouring their soul like this. After all, Erwind didn't personally tell him the corresponding feeling before being caught up by death and turning into flying ash. He didn't dare to think, what should he do if Jasmine also ended up like this.

Thinking of this, Fisher couldn't help but gulp down a mouthful of saliva, still seizing the opportunity to maneuver,

"Jasmine, Eliog is a demon, and furthermore is in a fit of pique. This matter is not this simple, you don't know..."

"Crack!"

But before Fisher could finish his words, Jasmine snapped the whip flashing with lightning in her hand, producing a terrifying thunder-like rumble, covering up his words within it.

Subsequently, Jasmine said,

"But, Teacher Fisher, I don't want to hear you explain anymore..."

As she walked toward the bed, she said,

"But, even if Eliog is a demon, doesn't Teacher Fisher still have quite a bit of history with her?"

"Quite a bit of history" quoted from the great Sir Book Artifact Eimhart at the doorway a few minutes ago.

"I..."

The greedy Fisher couldn't refute the facts. Of course he also knew sophistry wouldn't have any effect. And of course, an honest answer would also inevitably invite punishment.

Fortunately, Jasmine seemingly completely didn't wait for his answer. She merely pursed her lips. Subsequently slowly advancing, tying that lightning rope securely around Fisher's wrists. In an instant, a burst of faint electric current erupted from his wrists, shooting straight into his spinal marrow from both arms. Making his entire body go numb and thereby losing any power to resist.

"That one called Baimon... isn't she also... an evil demon? But when Teacher Fisher had relations with them... completely didn't care about this point at all right?"

Jasmine retreated a step backward. Looking at the Fisher whose arms were tied up, the expression on her face was both apologetic and satisfied. But her words still didn't stop,

"Moreover, Teacher Fisher completely doesn't care what race the person he likes is at all. Previously I was happy because of this, because this way the human Teacher Fisher could look at me with a peaceful gaze. But now I feel very distressed, because this way, having Teacher Fisher always look at me alone has obviously also become an extravagant hope...

"Instead of saying Eliog is a demon... it's better to say, Teacher Fisher is simply too delighted by such evil demons. The wickeder those women are, Teacher Fisher is Unable to Stop the more... Conversely looking at it, an obedient student like me instead makes Teacher Fisher feel tasteless, right?"

Jasmine spoke calmly. Yet her gaze swept across Fisher's entire body, as if having caught some evil criminal evidence. Her tone also grew increasingly certain, and her words also changed from initially stating facts to the final verdict of a chief justice in a courtroom...

Jasmine's verdict on the suspect Fisher was as follows,

"Actions like Teacher Fisher's, must be thoroughly punished properly."

"Jasmine..."

Within her eyes faintly possessed some kind of scarlet shadow acting up. Subsequently, she gently stepped on her right foot with her left foot, and then repeated this, thereby fading off the boots worn on both feet, revealing the little feet wrapped in white cotton socks as pure as snow inside—because items like shoes weren't needed at the bottom of the sea, Jasmine was also accustomed to wearing loose, easy-to-remove footwear on land.

Subsequently, she pulled the rack behind her holding various tools a bit closer. Then she sideways stepped onto Eliog's soft bed, looking down condescendingly at Fisher.

Perceiving the approach of a trace of a scorching soul, the thirst of the soul bursting forth from within Fisher's body became increasingly obvious. The edges of his bound hands had already begun to squirm restlessly even more. The Mana Circuits hidden beneath his clothes all over his body began to brighten up.

His endurance also gradually reached its limit. But who knew if Jasmine treated such signs as proof of his excitement, thereby advancing increasingly without any intention of retreating.

He gnashed his teeth. Just as he wanted to open his mouth and tell Jasmine the specific situation of his soul right now, he heard her voice transmit over,

"After arriving at the Dragon Court, Teacher Fisher's gaze has always been placed upon Raphaela, always together with her. You both mutually cherish each other... Presumably Fisher coming here, wanting to help resolve those two demons hiding in the Human Allied Army is also for Raphaela right?"

"..."

She sat beside Fisher, pursing her lips, smiling bitterly as she said,

"And she is also very worried about you. She knows I'm afraid even you are not a match for those two demons, worried you would Take a Risk in Desperation for her. Therefore, on the night before departure, she personally came looking for me, asking me to personally follow you into the Demon Dynasty, in order to stop you from disregarding the cost and using unorthodox methods to harm yourself at the most crucial moment..."

Fisher's pupils constricted slightly. The words about to speak out his soul state just now were also forcefully locked back into his throat by him, not a single word or word leaked out.

No wonder Raphaela seemed to have suddenly changed her personality, surprisingly willing to let Jasmine follow him out. Actually it was because she was worried about him...

She knew he might adopt dangerous methods. And the facts were indeed just as she expected, he was currently stepping into the abyss of Chaos step by step.

Having faced Pherone, Erwind, and Margaret, three enemies, Fisher of course knew what this power meant. But he had no other conventional methods to bridge the gap in tiers, he could only make such a choice.

But Raphaela also wasn't a fool. As Fisher's Tail-Compatible Partner, she of course understood Fisher, and could probably guess the Take a Risk in Desperation hidden beneath his calmness.

The momentary daze in Fisher's expression was captured by Jasmine. She froze slightly. Subsequently the smile on her face grew increasingly apologetic and helpless,

"Right, Teacher Fisher exactly has this expression, exactly this expression worrying about the other party very similar to Raphaela's... that night, she also worried about you like this... I know the feelings between you and Raphaela, and also respect this point. So I agreed to her request, even if she told me she already took Teacher Fisher to meet her mother Yali'er...

"But... but what about me?"

Jasmine lowered her head, allowing the shadows within the Castle to climb onto her already blurred face. Before Fisher could clearly read her expression again, she took a step ahead to move. Gently straddling, sitting on Fisher's body just like the Eliog just now.

"Ugh..."

Fisher gnashed his teeth and grunted. Undoubtedly, not only did he have to restrain the pain produced by the thirst of his soul, he also had to expend energy to listen to Jasmine's heartfelt words at this moment and the full emotions flowing out from within.

Of course, at the same time, he also felt the tactile sensation of Jasmine sitting on top of him at this moment was an Completely Different feeling from Eliog.

Thanks to the giant whale tail behind her, Fisher felt she was much heavier and also much softer than the Eliog from just now. That giant tail exactly covered his feet, overturning like a heavy quilt, making him unable to move.

"Teacher Fisher and Raphaela's feelings are so profound. It makes me feel so wronged so wronged. But I have no choice... I don't want to hurt Raphaela, and also don't want to let go of Teacher Fisher... I kept it from everyone without saying a word, merely continuously working, using this method to numb myself... but I still feel unwilling, and also feel very pained...

"Raphaela was willing to wait for so long for Teacher Fisher, willing to take you to see Aunt Yali'er... but I am also like this ah. I even left my mother's side to temper myself ashore, exactly in order to shelter Teacher Fisher in the face of the impending world destruction... I also waited for so many years. That is because back when in Naris, everything Teacher Fisher did, the kindness toward me, I also remember..."

Jasmine lowered her body a little bit. That excessively broad chest landed on Fisher's chest across the clothing, making the heart beneath her chest beat increasingly restlessly.

The numb lightning landing at his arms made his whole body limp, yet also enhanced his senses. Moreover, who knew if it was because Fisher was doing his utmost to suppress his soul's thirst, that hurried and forceful heartbeat sounded like drumbeats exploding in his ears, making his breathing hurried as well.

"Jasmine..."

"Teacher Fisher, you treating me like this... is it because you don't like Jasmine?"

Her voice was soft and wronged, seemingly carrying the urge to cry. Tear drops didn't fall, that numb words like cotton candy fell down instead, smashing straight into Fisher's brain.

Upon raising his eyes to look again, yet he saw beneath those beautiful azure long hairs, her pure and exceptionally beautiful face aggrievedly flushed slightly. Even her eyes were wet, like the glimmer of a lake reflecting the Fisher of this moment.

She just waited for Fisher's answer like this. Yet clearly there were only the two of them in this room, Fisher instead felt as if he was subjected to a silent interrogation. As if if he were to say a "no", his soul would suffer punishment...

Unable to refuse and resist, was her question at this moment.

And amidst Fisher's gulping throat, the answer also became apparent,

"...I am not, I like Jasmine very much."

"..."

The glistening waves in Jasmine's eyes became slightly brighter. Yet she didn't let go of the wicked Teacher Fisher beneath her body.

She merely pursed her lips, and subsequently lifted the long tail behind her to straighten her body up, temporarily taking that softness away from his body.

She took a deep breath, and somewhat unconfidently swept a glance at her body. After hesitating for a second, she gently used her hands to cover that profoundness like mountains and the softness like clouds of Cotton Candy. Again timidly continuing to ask,

"Then... is it because Jasmine isn't pretty enough? Is it because Jasmine isn't as good as Raphaela, isn't as good as Eliog, isn't as good as Baimon?"

"..."

In that instant, it seemed as if a rootless passionate flame erupted from the position Jasmine sat on. Progressing all the way up along the meridians, intent on igniting his soul.

The girl's doubts were like the first piece of toffee enjoyed by someone during a holiday. Enticing people to chew it fiercely, even if the candy body stuck to the teeth without caring, wanting to fiercely experience the Refreshing to the Heart sweetness bursting from within.

It made people Unable to Wait to prove the Completely Wrong of this doubt, wanting to let that girl proposing this question understand her own foolishness and inadequacy.

But thinking carefully about it, actually this perhaps wasn't a question needing answering at all. But rather a venting and dissatisfaction. Merely she was too soft, unable to do overly sharp and hurtful things.

Fisher had to admit, Eliog's strategy worked.

Because at this moment, his gaze and attention had been entirely occupied by the Whale-kin girl before his eyes. Even that thirst of the soul seemed to have been forgotten by him, not to mention Helaire and other ladies...

Enduring the crisp numbness of being bound and tied, Fisher shook his head, softly explaining,

"No, Jasmine, I never felt you are inferior to anyone. You are very pretty, prettier than anyone. It's just my fault... because you never expressed dissatisfaction, because you call me teacher, this made me subconsciously want to protect your purity, ignoring the dissatisfaction produced because of me... I'm sorry..."

Jasmine didn't take any more things from the rack beside her. Merely when hearing Fisher personally admit this point, she only then pursed her lips again, an expanse of watery gleam dyeing her eyes once again.

"Then..."

She opened her mouth, yet suddenly stopped speaking. Because she hadn't finished brewing before the emotions in her brain seized the opportunity, thus again silently falling into a soundless state.

"Then?"

Fisher repeated her query, wanting to hear her unfinished words.

But after Jasmine hesitated for a moment, she merely reached out to unfasten two buttons on her clothing again.

Who knew if it was an illusion. After those two buttons came undone, visually to Fisher, that chest became much more expansive. To the extent that shadows fell below Fisher's throat and chin up to half his face. And Jasmine seemingly finally breathed a sigh of relief as well.

"Then since Teacher Fisher has admitted fault, you must accept the punishment... punishment continues..."

Fisher froze slightly, subsequently smiling helplessly. Asking Jasmine like admitting defeat,

"Alright, my fault... then, what is the punishment?"

"Punishment..."

Jasmine pursed her lips, subsequently looking at the bottles and jars on the rack beside her. Then she casually drew out a potion filled with pink liquid. The moment she brought it over, the text on the bottle body twisted bit by bit, transforming into contents she recognized.

【Demon God Sitri's Energy Potion】

【For both internal and external use, making your lover love you even more~】

"What is this you are holding, Jasmine?"

Seeing her silently take a weirdly shaped thing from that rack, subsequently not putting it back, instead reading something. Fisher also couldn't help but gulp down a mouthful of saliva, questioning like this.

Yet Jasmine merely looked at him with a slightly flushed face. Subsequently twisting open the cap of that pink medicine, drinking half the liquid inside in one gulp and holding it in her mouth.

Closely following, amidst Fisher's Unbelievable gaze, she fiercely crouched her body down and kissed the Fisher unable to resist...

"Purr purr purr~"

The spicy, fragrant liquid just fell like this along her excessively lingering kiss. Until slipping into his body without a single drop left, absorbed by him.

Fisher's lower abdomen became increasingly scorching. And it seemed the general weakness on his soul was also somewhat alleviated because of this.

He even thought Jasmine saw through his current state, so she gave him some Magic Potion to replenish his soul power...

But closely following, he seemed to have felt something. Asking Jasmine somewhat thickly,

"Cough cough... Jasmine what did you give me to drink?"

But Jasmine didn't answer Fisher's question. She raised her face a little. That exceptionally beautiful face was now completely flushed. Like being drunk, both beautiful and enticing. Like a thoroughly ripe red apple enticing people to bite and kiss, to taste her exceptional beauty for a moment...

She pouted, subsequently leaning beside Fisher's earlobe. Exhaling hot air, yet answering Fisher's previous question,

"Hehe, Teacher Fisher... the punishment is I'm going to Eat you!"

"...Or perhaps... be Eaten by Teacher Fisher~"

Chapter 589: Whose Person

"I..."

Facing Eliog's words, Fisher lying on the bed opened his lips slightly. That self-identifying pronoun had already taken a step ahead to come out, but the remaining words seemed to have broken off in his throat, unable to be spoken for a time.

And hearing him open his mouth, the smile on Eliog's face became increasingly radiant, as she urged,

"Mm-hmm, hurry up and say it."

"..."

Fisher gulped down a mouthful of saliva. For some reason, an ominous feeling suddenly popped out within his inner heart.

Although she was not here right now, Fisher couldn't guarantee whether she knew he had already entered the Dynasty. After all, judging from her attention on him, it was highly likely she often hid in the dark to peek at his every move. It was hard to say whether the words he was about to say right now would enter her ears.

Fisher of course could gamble that she wasn't around. He could also treat these words as a necessary measure to rope Eliog in to help him. After all, it was just saying a sentence, very simple with no difficulty to speak of.

But speaking from the heart, Fisher was very clear what this sentence Eliog wanted him to say meant.

She wanted him to sever his connection with Helaire. She hated that bad woman who was also a demon yet left a mark on Fisher very much. So she needed Fisher's oath... yes, actually in Fisher's view, this wasn't a sentence that could be easily bluffed past. In his view, this was a guarantee and an oath, and Eliog probably valued oaths very highly.

Then, could Fisher sever his relationship with Helaire?

Fisher didn't answer for a time. He merely reached out a hand to cover his heart. There seemed to illusorily exist an arrow shaft there, a tiny bowstring originating from a certain "Cupid", thrusting straight into his inner heart.

He had no way to sever that indescribable relationship with Helaire.

It was just that when this thought popped up, it took root like that sharp "arrow of love", unable to be erased.

He of course also had no way to say he wasn't Helaire's person, because they had once possessed each other in past times.

Fisher remembered a sentence from Helaire very clearly. He still remembered seeing Helaire in the abandoned shipyard of the Red Dragon Court over ten days ago. That was the first time he saw her, who had survived until now using the identity of "Baimon", after he transmigrated back.

At that time, she pretended nothing was wrong yet couldn't hide her sorrow as she softly said to Fisher,

"Clearly to me it was ten thousand years, yet I have never changed from beginning to end; clearly to you it was an instant, yet you have changed so fast..."

Although emotionally Fisher was indeed very greedy, this was known to everyone. Otherwise he wouldn't have unprotected relations with various ladies like this. Even though in some sense he completely didn't take the initiative, but he also didn't refuse either...

However this didn't mean he was irresponsible and conscience-less. Therefore, this sentence Helaire said to him he remembered firmly, not daring to forget.

He didn't dare to forget that Helaire, like Asuka Karasawa, had also waited for him for ten thousand years. He also didn't forget that even if she wanted to release the two demons and make a move against Raphaela, it was all because she wanted to save him from the cage of the World-Ending Prophecy...

He might not be able to agree with her methods and the result of any female dying, yet he identically had no way to deny and betray Helaire's feelings toward him.

"I..."

He fell silent. And amidst this gradually lengthening wait, the smile on Eliog's face also grew fainter and fainter, until becoming expressionless.

But Eliog still didn't interrupt his thinking, insisting he personally say that answer.

"I have no way to say this, Eliog."

"..."

The dimness in the surroundings began to flow anew. As if injected with new motivation by Fisher's soft sentence, radiating a vitality unperceived by anyone...

Mm, as well as a tiny bit of joy not shown to others?

Fisher didn't know. The Eliog whose face was getting increasingly unpleasant right now also didn't have the mood to know.

At this moment, she sitting on the bed merely crossed her legs somewhat irritably. She crossed her arms, her sharp gaze sweeping across Fisher's chest like a knife. As if intending to forcefully gouge out that bright green, un-erasable mark along with the flesh.

But she ultimately didn't do this. Perhaps it wasn't because Fisher was already at the Mythic Rank right now, and relying solely on her current state she still wasn't his match. She merely Gnashed Her Teeth and said,

"...Baimon Baimon! Did she brainwash you, making you so Dead-Set And Devoted toward her?! Think carefully, do you think she could possibly be genuine toward you? A bastard adept at deceiving like her, can even deceive, toy with, and abandon her own compatriots! You are only a human, you will be eaten by her leaving not even bones behind, yet even after dying you'll still remember her kindness!"

The fortress brightened up significantly. Because Eliog's sealed main body behind the castle became extraordinarily bright due to emotional changes. To the extent that the dark purple ∞ mark covering her surface was slightly drowned out by that suddenly surging flame light.

The dimness inside the castle was also dispersed a bit by that firelight. Yet it still couldn't conceal the teasing while looking at the furiously raging Eliog at this moment. Like the audience watching a circus performance below the stage, yet not as noisy as them.

Fisher didn't answer her, merely looking calmly at Eliog and asking in return,

"...Eliog, you are also a demon. Could it be that back when you gave yourself to me, you also thought like this? Did your relationship with me also want to eat the me back then leaving not even bones behind?"

The furiously raging Eliog froze slightly. Finding Fisher's shadow reflected in her gaze. Thinking nothing of it she said,

"This is different!"

"...Can you talk about it specifically?"

"I..."

Once again, Eliog's tongue seemed tied into a knot, unable to say a word no matter what. But Fisher could clearly feel, within her inner heart she had always had that specific answer. But that answer somehow couldn't transform into spoken words no matter what.

Even when words came to a head, this Demon God actually Acted Shamelessly like a child, Giving Up on Herself saying,

"Anyway I said so aww, she and I are different means different!"

"..."

Fisher's brows furrowed slightly. He merely didn't understand why that answer couldn't be told to him. Couldn't be spoken straightforwardly, but instead had to beat around the bush and dodge around here. This rarely could solve the problem. Probably Eliog could also realize this point, yet she still did this. Owing to this, it also made Fisher extremely puzzled...

"Ugh..."

But just as he prepared to pursue the question, the Jasmine sleeping soundly beside Fisher furrowed her brows. Letting out a bit of a cute, restless whimpering sound. As if questioning exactly what noise was outside, why was it so noisy.

The two exchanged a glance. Simultaneously falling silent with tacit understanding. Thus making this sudden sound of Jasmine appear like a "halftime pause" whistle. Forcefully separating the two debating heatedly on the field, dividing the conversation into first and second halves.

But "Referee Jasmine" was completely unaware of this. After feeling the noisy sound beside her gradually die down, she satisfiedly buried her head with the blanket again, leaning towards Fisher's direction.

"..."

Eliog was already irritated. After seeing this scene she silently reached out her hand, grabbing the back of the neck of the Jasmine under the blanket. Pulling bit by bit towards the direction away from Fisher, until pulling a good distance before letting go. Then acting as if nothing happened, she continued to raise her head to look at Fisher, Arrows on Strings with him.

And the Fisher who originally wanted to question her felt the excitement in his inner heart unknowingly dissipate a bit after seeing this sudden childish action of hers. Including the original somewhat forceful question also dispelled bit by bit, transforming into nothingness.

Thus in the "second half", the two again bizarrely yet with tacit understanding maintained a bit of silence.

Eliog largely didn't know what to say, yet felt very irritated. This point could be known from Jasmine staying in Fisher's embrace continuously using her pink fists to hit him while also muttering some sleep talk,

"Raphaela... beat... Elizabeth beat... beat you..."

"..."

Seemed like she was influenced by Eliog's power. But speaking honestly, Fisher himself nonetheless didn't seem to feel too strong a sensation. To the extent that only the instant he came in did he have that tiny bit of such a feeling.

After being silent for quite a while, it was still Fisher who spoke first,

"Don't you want to know how I met Helaire?"

"No, I don't want to know at all aww, not at all."

The tail behind Eliog swayed. Her expression also became disgusted. Feeling that bright green mark was almost about to fly onto her head through Fisher's words. But Fisher still insisted on finishing this story,

"The reason I call her Helaire is not because this is an intimate address between her and me, but because this is exactly her true name, the name when she was an angel. And it was also at that time that I met her... in order to shake off the entanglement of death, I once returned to the past, returned to ten thousand years ago."

Fisher still roughly told these matters to Eliog. And Eliog's resistance of falling just short of raising her hands to cover her ears "not listening not listening" also became surprised when Fisher said "he returned to ten thousand years ago".

Subsequently, while listening to his refined account of returning to the past, she also couldn't help but sweep her gaze up and down Fisher. As if contemplating something, and moreover arrived at a corresponding answer.

"...At that time I still didn't know she was Baimon. And I also didn't know when she placed the mark on my body. I also knew very little about the matters of the Demon-kin. But just as I said, the relationship between her and me is indeed Extraordinary... after I left the past, she waited for me for a full ten thousand years until today. I cannot and also do not want to betray her, so... I have no way to make this choice. Sorry, Eliog."

Actually if truly having to compare whose feelings were profound with whose, presumably the Helaire who didn't know how long she accompanied and waited for Fisher was the correct answer. And didn't even know how much better than the Eliog whose nature was more akin to a "fleeting romance".

However, the greedy Fisher would also not give up on Eliog. Because that possessiveness, even if the time they spent together wasn't long, he still firmly remembered this indescribable relationship in his heart. The higher his Tier, the clearer he became about demons and Eliog's abilities, the more he doubted the deeper his memory regarding why Eliog gave herself to him back then.

When this story finished, he no longer spoke. Merely quietly waiting for Eliog's following words.

If even so she still wanted his answer, then Fisher would rather not need her help and also must unavoidably evade this choice.

And the Eliog who finished listening to everything already crossed her arms with a look of deep thought on her face. Subsequently, after seeing Fisher no longer narrating, she suddenly said,

"That is to say, actually that Baimon knew you very, very early on, even before me. And waited for you in the long river of Destiny for a full ten thousand years?"

"...It is indeed like this."

"So, actually it wasn't Baimon who snatched you from me. Instead, it was me who snatched you from her, giving her to wear a hat (cuckolding her)?"

"Mm? Mm?"

Fisher nodded. And then again blankly raised his head to look at the seemingly Lost In Thought Eliog before his eyes with a face full of doubt. He also didn't know why, her brain circuit suddenly jumpingly arrived at this conclusion.

To say it isn't correct right, it seems to also be correct. But to say it's correct right, somewhere in the unseen world Fisher again felt it wasn't quite like that. After all from his perspective, the chronological order of this matter was actually quite obvious.

However seeing her originally furiously raging expression also dissolved a few points like Sky Clearing After Rain, he basically didn't haggle over such inconsequential matters at this crucial juncture.

And Eliog swept another glance at Fisher. After confirming there was no remnant of death on his body at this moment, she then slightly breathed a sigh of relief. Saying to Fisher,

"Tsk, still feel a bit unhappy aww... but there's also no choice. Thinking about it carefully, back then it was exactly because I handed over the matter of pursuing and killing that fellow (Erwind) to you that caused you to be entangled by death. If it wasn't for this, you probably wouldn't even meet Baimon is all. However... heh, even if she was an angel before instead of a demon, but that fellow's true nature definitely won't change. Everything she does has meaning.

"According to what you said, if she used the Base to release us, and that Base originated from the entire Phoenix race, then she probably considered the current situation as early as six thousand years ago when visiting the Phoenix in the Northern Border. And where has she considered up to now... no matter what, we must first find the Base, first pull back those two idiots Agreas deceived by her before talking..."

Fisher opened his mouth, subsequently asking with a smile,

"You are willing to help me?"

Eliog threw a sideways glance at Fisher. Subsequently using her canine tooth that was a bit longer than other teeth to bite her own lip. Saying somewhat unhappily,

"Hehe, anyway regardless of whether she came first or I came first... right now I still can't deal with her. But from whatever reason, I plan to help you... firstly aww, as long as this plan is managed by Baimon, then going against her is definitely right. Secondly, Agreas and Barbatos are still being deceived by her. The partner of Agreas and Barbatos, Cidi, has an okay relationship with me. Although I am lazier, I'm still not a beast completely devoid of feelings. I want to help them...

"Lastly, since you are the one requesting me, as my Favored One, I also have no reason to refuse you. The current you has power stronger than me, and I also understand this place much more than you do. With our cooperation plus your two companions including this little Whale-kin girl, the chances of winning are estimated to be a bit higher as well."

Fisher froze slightly, subsequently saying,

"I had thought... if I didn't say the sentence you wanted me to say, you truly wouldn't help me."

Eliog turned her cheek sideways not looking at Fisher, merely explaining with a smile,

"...Well, actually thinking about it carefully, I also have no qualifications to make you say you are my person. Even if you said it, it would just be words spoken against your will that had to be said at this moment. After all compared to me, you have too many girls who can be said to be your person. You didn't know the mark Baimon left for you. And when I left a mark on you back then I also didn't tell you. Looking at it this way we also count as Birds of a Feather right... I just said that just now, actually it's just being unhappy with Baimon. But towards you... whatever you say is fine, I will help you."

"Eliog..."

Fisher looked at Eliog's wheat-colored skin hidden within the dimness. Looking at her curling mouth corners and smile, he suddenly called the other party's name once.

But when she turned her head to look at Fisher, Fisher nonetheless also had no following words. Just maintaining the action of gazing at her like this.

The connection between them was still as indescribable as in the past in Naris, only revealing some clues amidst the silence.

Fortunately, after a long while, it was still Eliog who spoke first.

Yet seeing her as if suddenly remembering something, she laughed. Chewing her canine tooth she asked Fisher,

"Then, if I truly did that just now aww, not helping you because you didn't say the answer I wanted, would you be angry with me?"

"Angry ah..."

Hearing this, Fisher looked at her. Subsequently seriously thinking for several seconds, only then did he shake his head, replying to her,

"No, actually I also know you have no responsibility forcing you to help me. Even if you didn't help me, coming here to see you once is also good."

"Purr purr purr~"

She swayed her mouth. From her throat and lower abdomen transmitted a bit of a purring sound like magma bubbling. An appearance that looked very happy.

But she didn't say she was very happy. Merely standing up to look outside. Doing stretching exercises while stretching lazily. Subsequently she said full of drive,

"Alright aww, now let's prepare to set off to viciously beat up Baimon!"

"..."

Looking at her figure, Fisher's chest couldn't help but slightly warm up. Like an illusion. And the fact was also exactly as he thought, because when he reached out his hand to touch it, there was nothing there.

He didn't feel Helaire's mark, yet suddenly recalled something.

He recalled the night he spent with Eliog that day. Recalled the early morning after that night. Recalled that early morning, she had once silently kissed on his chest when he was muddleheaded and hadn't yet awakened.

A kiss resembling an animal's marking was so gentle. And the Fisher back then completely didn't realize that it was actually a mark left behind on his body by a Demon God...

Because he remembered, when he felt her kiss him, he also immediately kissed her lips. Thereby also leaving a mark at the bottom of his heart that he only discovered until now, un-erased by Helaire.

That mark said to him,

"You ah, you must definitely become Eliog's person."

Chapter 590: The Man

"Ugh..."

Jasmine had a very, very long dream. In the dream, she and Raphaela, Elizabeth, or whatever other ladies of Fisher—anyway she couldn't remember either. She only remembered herself getting into a big fight with them, defeating them one by one, and driving them all away.

She also remembered, none of those ladies were her match. In Reality, those females she viewed as far superior to herself were all defeated by her without any suspense. All of them helplessly watched her monopolize Teacher Fisher.

"Jasmine, you fellow..."

Perhaps in the dream, those ladies would look at her with extreme unwillingness and speak like this. And Jasmine, looking at such gazes, felt even more annoyed in her inner heart. A sentence almost blurted out,

"Clearly I was the one who came first!"

"..."

Those indistinct shadows resembling the ladies then simultaneously shut their mouths. Seemingly frightened by the current Jasmine, lowering their heads not daring to look at her...

But this wasn't enough yet. Behind her, a plain female voice suddenly sounded out again,

"Jasmine."

"..."

Jasmine froze slightly and turned her head. Those shadows representing the ladies behind her also dispersed simultaneously. Only revealing the image of that expressionless beautiful woman before Jasmine's eyes.

"Mom?"

It was exactly the Whale-kin, Xuan Can.

Yet she saw the Xuan Can before her eyes looking straight at her. After scanning her up and down, reaching out a hand slowly towards her, saying,

"Go back with me, Jasmine."

"Go back... but I... still haven't..."

"Have you forgotten your promise with me?"

Xuan Can still looked at her expressionlessly, yet an unquestionable imposing manner spread out from within her body. She said,

"The time is already up. You still haven't entered the Mythic Rank. And if you fail you must return to the bottom of the sea with me. Could it be you've forgotten the words you told me?"

"I..."

Jasmine pursed her lips, yet was unable to refute her mother's words. She merely suddenly felt wronged in her heart, thus explaining,

"But I really tried my best. I tried many methods. Clearly I had already arrived before the gates of the Mythic Rank very very long ago, yet I couldn't enter no matter what... Mom, I don't have the talent you possess. I can't find the direction, I can't find the method to enter the Mythic Rank. But as long as I find the right method, I definitely can..."

But Xuan Can remained unmoved. She merely took a step forward, fiercely reaching out her hand towards her. Seemed like at this moment, the figure of Xuan Can before her eyes suddenly became blurred, becoming unlike that mom. Making Jasmine suddenly feel fear in her heart. Seemed like this fear was stationed in her inner heart...

The concept of her fearing.

She didn't even know why she would feel fear towards her mother. Even the instant this thought was produced, she felt it was absurd and guilty, feeling she had let down Xuan Can's love for her...

But Xuan Can't hand didn't land anywhere else. Merely gently patting her head, like a ray of light interrupting her flinching retreating action, making her look at Xuan Can again with tears in the corners of her eyes.

Yet what she saw before her eyes wasn't just Xuan Can. And not far behind her, stood a male Whale-kin whose entire body radiated a faint fluorescence, smilingly watching her.

That Whale-kin's temperament was refined, yet she couldn't clearly see his specific face and figure. Jasmine could only vaguely make out, on the ring finger of his left hand he wore a ring forged from gold. He had light blue long hair draped over his chest. Just a glance could recognize that person's connection with herself.

That was her father, Gou Wen.

"...Dad?"

Facing Jasmine's somewhat Unbelievable doubt, this father whom she had never met since birth seemed to freeze slightly. Subsequently, he slowly raised his hand, pointing towards a certain direction behind her.

His blurred words, seeming hidden beneath the water surface, also slowly transmitted over. He said,

"The gate entering the Mythic Rank is right there. Prepare to welcome your opportunities and challenges, daughter."

"..."

Just as Jasmine was about to turn her head to look at the appearance of that gate behind her, everything in the surroundings was receding. The great Dream dissipated at this moment, leaving behind only the streaks of scarlet that her peripheral vision finally captured.

"!"

In Reality, Jasmine gasped for breath and opened her eyes. What entered her eyes was the not-so-bright interior of Eliog's Castle. She was still lying on the soft bed, wrapped in a thick blanket. Her body was a bit sore and limp.

She silently blinked. Subsequently looking to the side, then seeing Fisher who was already fully dressed discussing something with Eliog...

"...That is to say, we'd better first close the Portals inside the Dynasty?"

"Mm, but not all of them. Rather, close the Portals related to Agreas and Barbatos. If they don't have their Portals, even if they discover something is wrong and want to rush back to the Dynasty, they must pass through any one of the 'Ten Gates of Desire'. Passing through there for us is also extremely troublesome. We can delay a lot of time aww woo~"

Eliog crossed her arms. Clearly just a moment ago she was still full of drive to viciously beat up Helaire, yet before exchanging even two sentences she turned into this half-asleep appearance again, having to yawn every couple sentences.

However fortunately, her thinking was still extremely clear and logical. But Fisher pondered for a moment, saying,

"...Previously Helaire told me that they would make a move against Raphaela at the correct timing, which is when the World-Ending Prophecy begins. I'm very worried that if they cannot enter the Demon Dynasty, they will go look for Raphaela, putting her in trouble, ultimately turning into a problem for the entire plan."

Eliog threw him a glance, saying as if Disappointed That Someone Hasn't Met Expectations,

"And you say you haven't been brainwashed by that fellow Baimon? You believe whatever words she says? If following her words, even if they have to wait for the correct timing to be able to make a move against Raphaela, then why didn't those two Eighteenth Tier Demon Gods directly tie her up, and then wait for the right timing to make a move, wouldn't that work? Still going to all this trouble to let her stay in the Dragon Court for so long. Do you think Agreas and Barbatos both had their brains squeezed by a door?

"The reason why they still haven't touched your little Dragon-kin girlfriend right now definitely has a cause. The timing is correct, but there definitely are other conditions. Other conditions that cannot be achieved by tying her up... in order to achieve this condition, they definitely cannot capture her, and even have to wait. Wait for her to deploy troops... so, you can rest assured. Even if you close the Portals, they definitely won't do anything to that Dragon-kin, even for revenge they won't..."

Fisher pondered for a moment, subsequently nodded, saying,

"How many Portals do those two have?"

"The number won't be many. But the problem lies in that the places where they two reside are far away from each other. One is at the [Gate of Curiosity], one is at the [Gate of Expression]. And there's a high probability they still have to enter the palaces they reside in. It will be very troublesome, best to operate separately, and moreover must be destroyed together. Otherwise whichever person's gets destroyed first or later, the other will receive news and immediately rush back from the other person's gate."

Eliog sighed. Subsequently continuing to say,

"Moreover, currently the most crucial problem still isn't the Portals aww. Rather, we still don't know where the Base Baimon used to operate and confuse the seal is stored. Although because of its function, that Base definitely won't be far away from the seal set up by that False God, just hidden inside the Dynasty... but given that bastard Baimon's level of cunning, that thing definitely has its aura concealed and is hidden in an extremely secretive place. Anyway it won't be hidden in her palace is all."

Yes, finding the Base was the true troublesome matter. And Fisher basically had no clues whatsoever about this. The Demon Dynasty was so massive; accurately finding it was no different from finding a needle in a haystack.

"Umm... Teacher Fisher, what exactly is that Base you guys are talking about?"

Exactly when the conversation between Fisher and Eliog fell into a brief contemplation. The Jasmine lying on the bed behind them suddenly spoke out, instantly making the two of them look at her simultaneously,

"You're awake, Jasmine?"

Fisher hurriedly walked to the bedside, confirming her current state. But Jasmine merely held his hand indicating she was fine.

Actually reaching their current Tier wouldn't produce any uncomfortable feelings. Although Fisher was indeed terrifying in this aspect, but it was just feeling extremely exhausted and hard to support towards the end. But it wouldn't actually cause any damage to her physical body.

And behind, Eliog let out a yawn. Still crossing her arms without any intention of answering her. Fisher had no choice but to explain what that thing was.

Fisher roughly told Jasmine some about the origin as well as the effects of that thing. Along with its extension, that scarlet contamination originating from the Spirit World...

And the arm-crossing Eliog hearing this also added one more sentence of explanation,

"That Base is not only the base for the Spirit World Contamination to descend, but also the pass for It to exercise power. Possessing the nature corresponding to Its Authority, therefore it can twist the seal of the False God to release them. However, that Base itself is not dangerous after severing the contamination. It should be Baimon who used some method to apply Its power of Chaos..."

"Scarlet power of Chaos..."

Jasmine looked towards outside the doors. Within those ink-black eyes seemed to flash a bit of nimbleness. Closely following, she suddenly said to Fisher and the others,

"Umm, Teacher Fisher... if that's the case, I seem like... I can feel exactly what location that... Base you guys are talking about is at eh..."

"What did you say?"

Fisher and Eliog both looked at the Jasmine sitting on the bed Totally Unexpectedly. Seemingly not expecting her to actually say such words.

"Can you feel where that thing is?"

Facing Fisher's Unbelievable question, Jasmine also appeared somewhat uncertain. She merely kept looking straight at the doorway. As if piercing through the walls of the castle before her eyes, the fiercely burning magma and obsidian cliffs outside continuously extending towards the depths of the Demon Dynasty...

She seemed to see a bit of lingering scarlet mist within it. That mist contained incredibly dense power of Chaos, seemingly waving its hand at her.

"Mm, but I can't clearly say specifically where it is. I can only feel the existence of that thing."

"...Real or fake? Can feel it just by sleeping for a bout with Fisher aww? How come I don't have this ability. Could it be we didn't do it as much and for as long as you guys, or is it on the posture..."

Eliog rubbed her chin. Got to say, she is indeed worthy of being an existence who is a Demon God. Just an effortless sentence was like a train whistling past, crushing over Jasmine's face. Causing her small face to flush red as well. She hurriedly explained,

"No it's not! It's just that I seemed to have had a Dream just now. Dreamt of my Dad... he said the trigger for me entering the Mythic Rank is right there. And then when I looked over the Dream ended. But I could still feel just what is that trigger Dad mentioned... it's exactly that thing with the weird scarlet aura. I'm also not sure if that's the Base you guys are talking about."

Hearing the "Dad" spoken from Jasmine's mouth, for some reason, the Fisher standing beside the bed at this time suddenly originated some feelings of a guilty conscience out of thin air for no reason.

Could it be, that fellow Gou Wen is also watching here?

Doesn't make sense. Why does it feel like wherever I go is like a live broadcast. Let's forget about Renee, Helaire, and that group of Chaos-kin. Could it be Gou Wen is also watching continuously?

Although it isn't certain they watch him every hour and moment, this Baffling And Unaccountable possible sense of being peeped upon really makes one somewhat speechless.

Also thanks to Fisher having a big heart. If it were someone else facing this feeling they would really be overly cautious. Let alone him still so bravely, actively, and risking his life to produce connections with so many ladies.

However thinking carefully about it actually it might not necessarily be Gou Wen truly watching. Even that Dream might perhaps not originate from Gou Wen?

Because if it really was Gou Wen. If he let him see that he truly ate his daughter clean...

Fisher didn't doubt the slightest bit he would definitely massacre out of the Spirit World like a madman to perform castration surgery on him!

The moment he recalled the shiny Golden Fluid Sword scalpel in his hand in the past time, Fisher couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine.

"Hmm, it does quite look like such a matter aww. Although I don't know the specific reason, but having a direction is always better than having none... let's go, this matter should not be delayed. Put on clothes we'll go take a look right now."

"Oh, oh."

Jasmine blankly nodded her head. And Fisher seeing Eliog about to go out stopped her. Subsequently pointing at the gem and letter placed at the head of the bed, saying,

"There is a human at your doorway who once signed a pact with Demon God Baal. You previously said his death was also snatched away. He made a request to me bringing a letter over for you. Saying it's to express gratitude, but I always feel he wants to request you to help do something..."

"That human king contracted by Beelzebub aww. Since when did he run to stay at my doorway..."

Eliog curled her lip. Subsequently walking to the head of the bed, roughly tearing open that letter and reading it.

Fisher watched her raise an eyebrow as she read, unable to help but ask,

"What is it, what is written on it?"

"...Nothing, it really is just some words of gratitude. Seems like after so many years that brain of his ruined by Beelzebub finally leaned to reflect. Knowing seeking help from demons without corresponding strength is just asking for trouble."

Eliog threw that letter to Fisher. He threw a glance. Exactly as Eliog said, the top was full of nothing but dry expressions of gratitude, thanking her for taking him in and so on. Nothing with specific content.

He also threw that letter on the cabinet beside. Subsequently preparing to set off together with them to find the Base Jasmine perceived.

Inside the encampment tent of the Human Allied Army, Agreas was sitting Bored to Death within the encampment tent. Playing with the Dagger in his hand. Occasionally looking with a glance at that Barbatos who was currently wiping his bowstring beside him.

Everything within the tent was tightly quiet. Until a flesh-colored worm drilled out from beneath the ground with a "pfft" sound. Breaking open the dirt on the surface, revealing sharp mouthparts.

Barbatos' attention was also attracted by that worm breaking out of the soil. Thus turning his head to watch it slowly crawl toward Agreas's hand.

After that blood-colored worm crawled onto his palm, Agreas then opened his mouth. Swallowing that worm down in one mouthful. Chewing enthusiastically. Faint sounds of bones and flesh fragmenting emitted from within his oral cavity.

Barbatos sighed. Turning his head away. Seemingly treating it as dirty, again using a handkerchief to wipe the large bow that he had wiped who knew how many times. Conveniently saying,

"Every time you eat a part of yourself like this don't you ever feel disgusted?"

Agreas still hadn't had his fill after finishing eating. While licking his lips he said,

"Since your mysophobia is so severe, when you were together with Cidi why didn't you consider giving him a good wash?"

"..."

Barbatos' sharp gaze burst forth from his turned head. Like intending to slice her into a thousand pieces.

But Agreas was too lazy to continue bickering with him. Merely rubbing his chin muttering,

"That Fisher isn't by that Dragon-kin's side, and that Whale-kin is also not here... if we don't use malice to speculate that Fisher also has an affair with that Whale-kin. It can only mean, that Fisher has hid himself, possibly reading those manuals reached a crucial moment..."

"Also possible, they left to complete some other mission. The animals I left in the south can feel it, they are also not in the Dragon Court."

"Disappeared?"

Agreas narrowed his eyes. The more he thought, the more he felt there was some indescribable connection between Baimon and that human man. But right now he estimated she was still busy with those trivial matters in Naris...

Heard there were some matters over at Naris's side recently. But they didn't care and didn't mind. They just hoped to be able to escape the False God's seal earlier.

Unlike Baimon, acting too deeply engrossed in a play, actually taking herself as the loyal Inner Court Official of that human Empress?

The more he thought about it, the more irritated Agreas felt.

He rubbed the space between his eyebrows, suddenly lamenting a sentence,

"Really, if only I could be like that fellow Eliog not using the brain sleeping all day that would be great..."

Barbatos sneered. Looking at Agreas saying,

"If you feel unhappy just go release your true nature. The way I see it, you actually are even inferior to her."

"Heh, I am indeed inferior to you bastards who can overcome your demonic nature..."

Facing Barbatos' mockery, Agreas also didn't refute. Rather feeling the other party spoke correctly.

He didn't haggle over so much. Merely suddenly felt something, muttering,

"...Huh, not right. Why did the gift I handed over to Eliog previously suddenly run into her castle?"

"Gift, what gift?"

Agreas suddenly sat up straight. Furrowing his brows, saying,

"Last time I requested Eliog to go pursue and kill that human livestock with the Completion Handbook. Midway I was forced to make her come back which made her inexplicably angry. Originally I wanted to apologize before slumbering, but seeing her soul had already returned to the main body, I didn't enter her castle...

"She doesn't like others privately entering her castle. Even that fellow Beelzebub was beaten by her because of this. So I handed a piece of top-quality Weapon Source Stone to that human king contracted by Beelzebub. Telling him to hand it over to her whenever Eliog wakes up..."

Barbatos couldn't help but ask doubtfully,

"Human... you mean that Solomon?"

"Ah, that human saved by Baimon back then. She saw that human deceived by Beelzebub was pitiful, so she gave him the errand of commanding the Little Demons. Not only can he act as a messenger, he also can make that group of brainless Little Demons that add to chaotic shouting and barking quiet down a bit... it's just, why did he suddenly send the gift out, could it be Eliog is awake?"

Agreas nodded, saying,

"Indeed it's possible. I'm considering whether to seek her help. Last time after she left the Dynasty she seemed to have encountered someone worth cherishing outside. She even handed the task of pursuing and killing that person with the Completion Handbook to that man. It's exactly because she gave the Death Rune to an outsider that I had a quarrel with her... however, Eliog's eye for judging people is indeed quite good. That bastard indeed was somewhat... by that man..."

Agreas's expression suddenly changed. His words also Abruptly Ended in his mouth. Making Barbatos also couldn't help but turn his head to look at him, asking,

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing... just don't know if I remembered incorrectly..."

Agreas looked expressionlessly at Barbatos, suddenly saying,

"Seems like that man having a relationship with Eliog is exactly called Fisher wasn't it?"

"..."

Chapter 591: Succubus

When Fisher pushed open the large doors of Eliog's Castle anew, revealing the unchanging molten lava scenery outside where day and night were indistinguishable, Fisher also couldn't help but let out a long breath of relief. In his inner heart he actually still felt some guilt.

Because he still remembered before setting off with Jasmine, he had promised Raphaela saying he wouldn't do anything to Jasmine. But looking at it now he had broken his word. Not only did he do something to Jasmine, and moreover did quite a lot.

But thinking carefully about it, under the previous circumstances he completely couldn't do anything anyway.

Because he had to awaken Eliog, a massive amount of Soul Energy was extracted from him, causing him to become weak and unable to resist; and his body also had Helaire's mark, causing the awakened Eliog to be very angry and wanting to punish him; before the punishment was even halfway through, it was interrupted by the suddenly barging in Jasmine. Because of long-endured grievances that hadn't erupted previously as well as jealousy towards Eliog, she tied him up and punished him to her heart's content...

Looking over the entire process, Fisher was also truly helpless. Seemed like all the accidents that occurred couldn't be controlled by his will. No wonder he—but if you insist on talking about fault he could also be blamed. If he hadn't provoked Eliog, hadn't provoked Helaire, the current unprovoked disaster wouldn't have happened right?

"You finally came out!"

Just as Fisher was reflecting in his inner heart, Emhart with dead-fish eyes quickly flew over from the outside of the castle. He swept a glance at Fisher's current Refreshed and Invigorated appearance, unable to help but sigh and roast,

"I had thought Jasmine going in would at least cause a huge ruckus. Seeing you guys not coming out for so long I knew you did bad things again..."

"..."

Emhart indeed understood Fisher. He was almost Accustomed to the approximate duration of him doing bad things.

Before Fisher could open his mouth to answer, the flush-faced Jasmine behind him had already dressed neatly and walked out brightly like the sun. Smilingly greeting Emhart,

"Mr. Sir Book Artifact!"

"..."

Emhart opened his mouth, subsequently saying Weakly And Feebly,

"Fisher you truly are not human. If this matter is known to Raphaela... tsk tsk tsk."

"I..."

Exactly as the entanglement Fisher felt right when he came out, he also felt his previous actions were somewhat impulsive. Moreover even if he wanted to do it, he should have chosen a more suitable time, instead of forcefully forcing himself upon her in such a hurry.

But Jasmine was already no longer that obedient student who listened to his every word previously. Her previous actions weren't controlled by Fisher's will. Now facing Emhart's accusation, Jasmine also clenched her pink fists taking the initiative to explain,

"Sir Book Artifact, I merely wanted to punish Teacher Fisher! Moreover clearly ever since Teacher Fisher returned he had continuously stayed together with Raphaela. Saying he was coming to find me previously yet didn't find me at all, completely not keeping his word!"

Emhart looked at her with dead-fish eyes, subsequently shaking his head perfunctorily,

"Ah yes yes yes... but how did you this fellow suddenly become so combative. Clearly back in Naris and the Dragon Court you weren't like this."

"This is all to blame Teacher Fisher, and the other females he knows bullying me..."

Fisher patted her head, making the Jasmine who still wanted to say something stop in place, comfortably enjoying his head pat. And Fisher also appropriately stopped this topic, entering the main subject,

"We have to hurry up. Eliog has already decided to help us. With her help we can also be a bit more relaxed. We've rested enough, this matter should not be delayed, let's set off quickly."

Emhart threw a glance at the empty and hollow palace behind, yet didn't see that Demon God with a face full of sleepiness. Thus questioning doubtfully,

"Where is Eliog? Is she not setting off together with us?"

"We must first destroy the Portals to here belonging to Agreas and Barbatos. This can delay them for a long time. And their palaces are one behind the [Gate of Curiosity], one behind the [Gate of Expression]. To set off together would delay for a very long time... so, she'll go to Agreas's side first to close his Portal, and we are responsible for Barbatos's..."

Emhart nodded his head, then flying onto his shoulder to stand firm. Then listening to Fisher looking at a certain direction continue to say,

"We will first go regroup with Holland. He lies exactly at the edge of the Gate of Victory. Setting off from that direction passing through the [Gate of Carnal Desire] then we can arrive at Barbatos's palace in the Gate of Expression... as for the Base, Jasmine seems to be able to feel the existence of that Base, seeming to be in the vicinity of the [Gate of Knowledge]. We'll regroup with Eliog there last."

"Gate of Knowledge?"

When this vocabulary popped out of Fisher's mouth, Emhart then found it hard to suppress a shudder throughout his body. Seeming to recall some unbearable pain and fear from his memories.

"Bai... Baimon's palace is right there!"

Holding it in for a long while, the first sentence he spoke was this.

Fisher also nodded, conveniently saying,

"Eliog has previously went there to take a look. Helaire has already not returned to her palace for a very long time. That place is already nearing abandonment. If she isn't watching us right now, then highly likely she also wouldn't know we've already arrived at the Demon Dynasty."

"Really?!"

"Mm."

Actually Fisher felt somewhat curious about the method Helaire used to monitor him. Just like Renee and the Chaos-kin, they were all in the Spirit World, outside the envelopment of the world, and their Tiers were extremely high. It was truly normal to be able to see his every move.

But how did Helaire do it?

Her current Tier was roughly between the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Tier. Also shouldn't have any particularly formidable monitoring means. It wouldn't go as far as being able to stare at him every hour and moment right?

However at least he comforted Emhart a bit. Subsequently they set off together, naturally moving towards the edge of the Gate of Victory.

"Aiya, Guest, have you handed over my letter of gratitude and gift to Demon God Eliog?"

When they leaped back to the previous place, that Solomon wrapped tightly in bandages resembling a skeleton trembled and slightly walked out from his crude and small black stone house. Seeing Fisher's empty hands, he then visibly revealed happiness.

Fisher nodded indicating affirmation, and he became even more excited. Walking before Fisher preparing to fulfill his previous promise,

"Good good good... then, does Guest have any need for help? Although I might not be able to provide any major help, but once there is a need please do not hesitate."

"...We don't have anything needing help. Merely doing it in passing. I've appreciatively received your good intentions."

Hearing this Solomon nodded. Then smilingly pointing at his chest, seemingly pointing at that demon Scroll on Fisher's body. Simultaneously saying,

"Alright then, Guest if you wish to know anything, actually on that Scroll of mine previously it was already written very clearly. If there's still anything you don't understand and wish to contact me you can tell these Little Demons beside. Although they might not be able to communicate, but as long as you speak my name, they will definitely come find me."

Fisher raised an eyebrow, couldn't help but ask doubtfully,

"A prisoner like you deceived by Demon God Baal can still manipulate these Little Demons?"

The dry face of Solomon hidden beneath bandages smiled bitterly. Subsequently explaining,

"Also doesn't count as manipulating. Merely able to understand the thoughts of these beasts. Getting along for a long time one can achieve it."

The Jasmine behind rubbed Fisher's hand. Making him unable to help but turn his head around to look, yet seeing Jasmine also looking at the stone wall beside. Faintly climbing on and hiding above were those mindless Little Demons. All of them were using their soulless yet faintly glowing eyes to stare at their group of people, giving people an uncomfortable feeling.

"...Farewell."

"Ai, walk slowly, Guest."

Fisher didn't stay long. Turning his head he then held Jasmine's hand and advanced towards the direction Eliog pointed out previously.

He was Mythic Rank. Moreover because he just did it, having the Post-Reproduction Enhancement Buff attribute at play, his body was far more agile than the past. And Jasmine was also light-bodied, continuously fluttering and flying up and down the molten lava. Every ten miles or so they could see a palace whose scale wasn't as good as Eliog's and whose image and style varied. Presumably occupied by a Demon God originally.

Also exactly as Eliog said, actually the connections between these Demon Gods themselves were very limited. Except for a minority like the partner relationship between Barbatos and Cidi, and the intimate friend relationship between Agreas and Eliog. The remaining demons basically all did their own things, ignoring each other. Even the palaces were built very far away from each other.

"Speaking of which, Teacher Fisher, didn't you say previously, those two demons named... mm, Barbatos and Agreas were released by Baimon, using the freedom of the demons as remuneration to drive them. Demon Barbatos listening to her words I can understand. Because previously Sir Book Artifact said he had a partner named 'Cidi'... then what about Agreas, does he also have a partner needing to be rescued?"

"No, Agreas doesn't have a partner."

"Then this group of demons seem to all have not so good relationships with each other. Why did Agreas still want to help Baimon?"

The Emhart standing on Fisher's shoulder shook his head saying like this. And Fisher recalled a bit, also saying,

"Previously Eliog told me, the relationships between demons are all very loose. And at that time I still didn't know they originally still had four top-level [Monarchs] existing, Baimon is exactly one of them. But even if it's like this, these Monarchs also don't really manage matters much, and also don't care much about compatriots. Merely becoming King because of formidable strength and profound knowledge... but only Agreas alone is an exception. He manages matters within the Dynasty very much. It can be said, besides the four Monarchs, he is the decision maker within the Demon Dynasty.

"He actively took on responsibilities for matters unrelated to him, which also means, there are matters he feels are worthwhile, that he wishes to participate in. Thus having a lot of intimate friends within the Dynasty, Eliog is one of them. Otherwise with her lazy personality she wouldn't have agreed to leave the Dynasty to pursue and kill Erwind. It seems he still highly values the feelings with those intimate friends, otherwise he also wouldn't have agreed to Helaire's invitation..."

Looking at the bewildered Jasmine behind him, Fisher smiled slightly. Turning back to look at her asking,

"Didn't Xuan... uh, your mother tell you these?"

Fisher originally subconsciously wanted to say "Aunt Xuan Can", but for some reason, the face of brother Gou Wen surfaced in his mind again. Xuan Can is his wife, however he called her it all felt somewhat strange. So he simply had no choice but to use even more non-specific references.

"Mm, no, Mom never told me about the Demon Dynasty. But perhaps she had visited previously, because my home also has a broken dagger possessing a very weird aura... Mom said that thing is the creation of demons, called what... Rune again?"

Dagger?

Rune?

Fisher listening to these two familiar concepts, suddenly raised an eyebrow. Somewhat Unbelievable in his inner heart. Simultaneously probing with words,

"You mean, the Death Rune?"

"...Mm, seems like it's called this. But I seemingly didn't feel any aura of death on it ah."

"..."

Of course you couldn't feel it, because that thing had already been used. Anyway back then Fisher in the Northern Border deeply stabbed that thing into Erwind's body, and the aura of death on that thing transferred onto Erwind and himself in an instant. That Rune also turned into a useless blade.

But, the first Death Rune produced by Agreas is with Xuan Can?

Then what existence was it used on back then, why did it run to Xuan Can's side again.

Fisher felt somewhat puzzled. But seeing Jasmine right now also confused in a fog. Evidently she back then didn't have any profound impression of the "small ornament" her God of Destruction mother placed in the house. And also didn't know the terrifying power behind those items and Xuan Can's glorious battle record.

"Fisher look quickly, we form to be almost arriving at the edge of the Gate of Victory!"

Fisher no longer pursued the question. Instead the Emhart continuously looking at the road from his shoulder suddenly voiced out to remind. Looking ahead following his voice, Fisher and Jasmine quickly saw a bit of dense pinkness at the end of the shrinking canyon valley on both sides.

The molten lava cave they were originally in, besides the color of the magma being scarlet, the most standard feature was the top and bottom lava reefs being dark rocks resembling obsidian. But at the end of the massive road ahead, behind a stone gate several dozen meters tall, it was full of white-clean stones resembling sand simultaneously revealing a tiny bit of pink. Bright like heaven, still radiating wisps of extremely pleasant floral fragrance. Compared to the burnt molten lava feeling on this side, it was simply worlds apart.

"That's the Gate of Carnal Desire? But where did the Death Minister go? Didn't Eliog say he was in this vicinity?"

Fisher muttered a sentence. Not hurriedly sizing up the Dynasty scenery over there perfectly matching its name. Instead looking around in four directions, seeking that tall and slender figure of the Carduan.

"Aiya, where are you going ah, don't leave ya~"

"Come play sir~"

"Ya! So bad!"

Exactly at this moment, Fisher's group seemingly heard wisps of decadent sounds transmitting from the side of the gate doors. That sound was charming and lively, seemingly plucking at heartstrings. Just hearing the sound could make Jasmine Flushed with Shame, starting to imagine what kind of scene that should be in her mind.

And Fisher also raised an eyebrow, taking Jasmine continuing to walk forward. Quickly seeing quite a few female figures at the other end of the gate doors.

Every single one of those figures' heights and body shapes varied, yet possessing an almost identically seductive and graceful curve. Their appearances and facial features were all top tier beautifully handsome. Left in Naris who knew how they would be exalted. Hair colors and lengths all varied. The curvy ones having a prominent front and perky backside no need to mention. Even the flat board-like ones with not much figure possessed smooth curves, making one's imagination run wild viewing them.

On the back of every single one of them grew a pair of medium-sized bat-like wings. Behind them, unlike Eliog's thick arrow-head tail, their tails were more petite and cute. The end also presenting a shape resembling a small heart, burning a flame of consciousness resembling a small fireball above.

Just seeing them, Fisher felt the Demi-Human Girl Completion Manual on his chest starting to heat up. Clearly just a kind of demon, yet making it extraordinarily excited, not knowing what nerve was poked.

"Those are Demon Attendants?"

Their clothing was revealing. Seeming as if afraid of heat and poor to the point of not even being able to buy fabric. Short skirts and thin strips of cloth looming indistinctly outlining the beautiful parts of females. Arousing people's Blood-Pumping.

"Ah, and moreover the Demon Attendants behind the Gate of Carnal Desire... uh, meaning those what you humans called in ancient times [Succubus]. Their true nature is relying on carnal desire to obtain Food, extracting Fallen Self-Nature."

Emhart sighed. Turning his head to look at the Fisher beside him, roasting,

"Why don't you go become a Succubus, it feels quite suitable—ouch!"

Fisher wordlessly patted him once. Smacking his slander back into his brain. Before he could furiously scold back, Fisher had already preemptively opened his mouth saying,

"The Death Minister is right there."

"Where, how come I didn't see anything?"

Emhart looked around. Yet only saw those warbling swallows and singing orioles. Didn't see that figure standing out like a crane amidst a flock of chickens.

But Fisher narrowed his eyes, looking towards the middle of that group of Succubi. After being silent for a moment he said,

"He is underneath them."

"Ah, let me! It's my turn, my turn!"

"Don't push!"

Right there in the pink realm on that side of the Gate of Carnal Desire, several heart-shaped tails swayed incessantly, highlighting the infatuated, scrambling groans of the succubi pushing against each other. They were so absorbed that they didn't even notice Fisher leading Jasmine and the others close to them.

They crawled and scrambled to pounce on the weakly struggling figure surrounded by them, as impatient as if they were feeding.

When Fisher arrived, he saw bird corpses scattered all over the ground, as if these dead birds had just been through a battle but failed to protect the master controlling them because they were too fragile.

"Hey, stop for a moment."

Unlike the little demons earlier who fled as soon as they sensed the aura of Fisher's Mythic Rank, right now, even though Fisher spoke directly to them, they acted as if they couldn't hear him at all. They continued to crowd around the Lord of Souls, sucking and exacting something.

Instead, it was the Lord of Souls surrounded by them who heard Fisher's voice clearly. He quickly reached his pale hand out from the cage formed by the bodies of the succubi with great difficulty, grasping repeatedly toward the direction of Fisher's voice, as if crying for help.

"Ugh! Ugh!"

Even his extended leg began to tremble convulsively as if enduring some cruel torture, which was beyond Fisher's scope of knowledge.

But this didn't stop him from lending a hand. Seeing that this group of succubi completely ignored his existence, he silently raised his hand. The soul in his hand contorted continuously, as if generating a suction force like a black hole. In an instant, the mana circuits on the bodies of all the succubi before him lit up, and a feeling of extreme weakness surged in their hearts as they realized they were being attacked.

"Roar! Who is it?"

One of the purple-haired succubi situated directly above the Lord of Souls's body raised herself ferociously, turning her head to look at Fisher nearby. Dizzy and confused, she thought it was those reckless little demons, but what entered her sight was an expressionless, handsome man.

Her ferociously beast-like expression instantly turned pink and tender. Just as a smile was about to form on her face to reach out and seduce him, she finally sensed the terrifying rank of the existence before her.

"Ah, this is... you! No..."

She was so frightened that her little face turned pale, and her legs gave way as she fell to the side. But the sisters beside her ignored her entirely, moving out of the way and pushing her out of the area surrounded by succubi. Then, the other succubi who had just been waiting on the sidelines eagerly scrambled forward, wanting to take the central position where the purple-haired succubus had just been.

"Smooch... give me a little more... Fallen Self-Nature... ha..."

"So hungry... so hungry..."

"Hey! Dorian! Melanie! Stop sucking, someone else is here! Let's get out of here!"

Seeing that her sisters still hadn't snapped out of it and were about to rush forward as if nobody was watching, the purple-haired succubus who had just sobered up was so frightened that she quickly flapped her bat wings and rushed forward to grab the succubi lying on the Lord of Souls, but they roughly pushed her away.

Moreover, it seemed that this purple-haired succubus who had just finished feeding didn't have much strength left. She was easily shoved to the ground, looking at Fisher in panic, as if hesitating whether she should flee.

"This Lord... no... we..."

Fisher reached out his hand again. As the mana circuits lit up, the soul within his fingers became increasingly contorted. Then, he forcefully pulled his hand back, and all the succubi pinned on the Lord of Souls began to wail, before uncontrollably smashing to the side.

The mana circuits on their bodies turned into kindling, igniting a raging fire to provide Fisher with pure power. This caused them immeasurable pain, rolling and wailing continuously on the ground. Their skin also began to turn a bizarre cyan hue, which was the sign of their blood turning blue.

Their souls were leaving their bodies and dying.

"Ahhhhh!"

The sight of so many succubi scattering all at once, lying on the ground contorting and wailing, made Fisher's surroundings look more like hell than the Demon Dynasty itself, instantly terrifying the purple-haired succubus so much she froze in place.

But the intoxicating sensation of acquiring soul power made it difficult for Fisher to stop. It felt as if at this moment, the continuously increasing pure power offered him a shortcut to defeat Barbatos and Agreas. Just the power from these few succubi was enough to make him feel this way. If he were to increase the quantity and quality of extracted souls even further, the power Fisher would gain was simply unimaginable...

"Professor Fisher, um... why don't you stop for a moment?"

But just then, Jasmine beside him suddenly reached out and grabbed Fisher's arm. That power designated for extracting souls instinctively spread towards Jasmine. This dangerous action struck Fisher's head like a heavy bell, instantly waking him up. He quickly halted the soul extraction process.

"Buzz!"

"Not enough... the soul power to journey to the Spirit World is still not enough..."

In that instant, an explosive ringing erupted in Fisher's ears, and intermingled within was a whisper from a certain Transferred Person Fisher had met before—the Lord of Souls.

He took a deep breath, quickly turning his head to look at the startled Jasmine, and asked,

"Are you alright, Jasmine?"

Jasmine blankly stared at the Fisher before her, then shook her head and asked in worry,

"I'm fine, but are you alright, Professor Fisher?"

"...I am fine."

"I'm not fine!"

Eimhart yelled as he flew back down from the sky onto Fisher's shoulder, bumping into his cheek and saying,

"That damn power you just used completely ignored my existence, it almost swallowed me too! I thought you just couldn't notice anyone, so how come you woke up immediately when Jasmine touched you?!"

Indeed, Fisher had completely forgotten that Eimhart was still on his shoulder just now, forcing him to fly high into the sky to dodge Fisher's soul devourment.

Fisher helplessly patted his book body and apologized to him. He was indeed still a bit unskilled in using the power of Chaos, and he had long been aware of the dangers within it.

When he released Eliog previously and unleashed a lot of soul power, he had experienced this feeling of losing control. He had tried his best to control it then, not acting up until he shared intimate contact with Jasmine. He thought that after his soul power was fully replenished, he would no longer have such feelings. Now it seemed that even though his soul was replenished, his thirst for other souls remained.

This was an ailment he had contracted ever since he began reading the Soul Completion Handbook, and there was still no sign of relief today.

He shook his head and could only focus his attention on the current priority.

"Wuu wuu..."

Amidst the succubi wailing all over the ground, the Lord of Souls was lying squarely on his back, staring up into space as if having nothing left to live for. His original thick outer garments and lining had been torn open, roughly exposing his pale, corpse-like, and skeletal body.

Yet, even so, his face, neck, and chest were still covered in lip prints from being forcefully sucked on. Interspersed among them were rosy, needle-like scars, which were probably left behind when the succubi extracted his Fallen Self-Nature using their tails.

He gazed upward like a sage. In this moment, in his wretched state of torn clothes and disheveled attire, Fisher had already taken in everything.

After a very, very long time, he closed his eyes and sighed. A single clear tear slowly slid down from the corner of his eye as he said,

"...I really want to die."

These words, which sounded almost like his catchphrase, seemed exceptionally sincere at this moment. Mm, and there was also a very interesting hint of resentment in them.

This simple sentence made both Fisher and Jasmine laugh. He ignored the shivering succubi around him who finally sobered up and were scared out of their wits by his Mythic Rank aura. He walked up to the Lord of Souls and asked,

"How did you get entangled with them?"

"...I wanted to come find you all, but I didn't know your location, so I prepared to send my birds out to search for your trails. I sent some birds in both directions. As a result, the birds sent in the direction you came from didn't find you, but the ones sent in the other direction ended up attracting this group of female demons."

While adjusting his indecent clothing, the Lord of Souls listlessly explained to Fisher what he had just encountered.

Unlike Fisher, who had scrolls and connections, he knew absolutely nothing about this place. Not knowing which way was which, he could only search blindly on this side. He didn't know that the area over there was actually within the domain of the Gate of Carnal Desire, and as a result, he was attacked by succubi.

Fisher didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and at the same time, he looked at the group of shivering succubi huddling together beside him. Just as he was about to say something, the purple-haired succubus who had first been pulled out knelt on the ground and begged for mercy in a delicate voice,

"My Lord, please spare our lives, we... we didn't mean it!"

Listening to that obviously seductive voice, Jasmine glanced at their pitiful sobbing faces again. A longsword suddenly materialized in her hand, and the bright silver light instantly made the succubus who had just spoken delicately return to normal, as she completed her final sentence in a solemn, holy voice akin to a Holy Maiden.

"Didn't mean it? But this friend of mine was almost driven to suicide by you all. Could it be that you all took a fancy to his looks and wanted to take him home?"

"We..."

The purple-haired succubus swallowed a gulp of saliva, then whispered,

"We were just hungry. We haven't eaten Fallen Self-Nature in so long, so we couldn't hold back..."

"...Wait, you are all Demon Attendants, right?"

Fisher sized up this group of Demon-kin before him, who possessed clear consciousness, vastly different from those little demons, yet not as powerful as Demon Gods, and spoke up.

As introduced previously, although the name Demon-kin generally referred to the demi-human races originating from the Demon Dynasty, in reality, the true Demon-kin were only the seventy-two Demon Gods. They were powerful Mythical Species, but were currently sealed beneath the magma by the Mother Goddess.

However, beneath the Demon Gods, there were two other categories. The weakest were the little demons, lacking intellect like wild beasts. In human legends, the offspring born to Demon Gods were the little demons. But having later learned the reproductive knowledge of Mythical Species, Fisher knew that Demons couldn't procreate, so the idea that little demons were their children was purely an unfounded fabrication.

Perhaps in ancient times, those Demon Gods used little demons as substitutes to entice other races to contribute their Fallen Self-Nature, or they cursed exactly those individuals, transforming their offspring into little demons, thereby spreading this rumor.

He still remembered that when he first met Eliog, she had used this notion, asking Fisher if he wanted to make her pregnant with a little demon.

The phrase was a double entendre, but only now did Fisher roughly realize that Eliog was just teasing him at the time.

Besides little demons, a higher category consisted of the Demon Attendants. There were many types of them, with varying forms. Just like their superior Demon Gods, they hardly looked like a single species. Succubi were one of them.

But the reason Fisher brought this up was that Demon Attendants weren't like the sealed Demon Gods; they were capable of freely walking in this world. Why would they be deprived of Fallen Self-Nature for a long period?

"Ah, we... according to human classification, we are indeed Demon Attendants. More precisely, we were all once Familiars under Lord Cidi and Lord Sallos, but that was a very, very long time ago. My name is... Mitra, I am Lord Cidi's Familiar."

"No, what I mean is, since you guys aren't sealed, why haven't you been able to extract Fallen Self-Nature for so long?"

Upon hearing this, the expressions of Mitra and the sisters kneeling and shivering beside her became even more indescribable. This instead piqued Fisher's interest, prompting him to raise his hand and ask again,

"Not talking?"

"I'll speak! We'll speak!"

Seeing him raise his hand again, Mitra—terrified that he would use the previous method to extract their souls—immediately raised her hands to beg for mercy, explaining to Fisher with some hesitation,

"Actually... we had also gone out before, but later we were chased back and forbidden from going out again..."

"Chased back? Who chased you back, and why?"

Mitra cautiously shot a glance at Fisher. Seeing that he had a human appearance, she couldn't help but say,

"My Lord, you should know that we demons—whether it's the Lord Demon Gods, the Familiars, or the little demons—all live off Fallen Self-Nature. But to us, Fallen Self-Nature isn't quite like food; it's more akin to an irrepressible... Innate Nature.

"We won't die if we don't extract Fallen Self-Nature for a long time, but it will bring us unimaginable pain that no other race can comprehend. It's like not breathing but living on in the agony of suffocation; like not drinking water but living on in extreme thirst... And this imagination grows more pronounced the stronger your strength and the older your age.

"As Familiars of the Gate of Carnal Desire, we are inherently passionate about lust and this matter, and we must obtain 'food' from this alone, no other method can suffice. And I, as well as the sisters beside me, are Familiars who have lived for a millennium, considered quite senior, and thus the Innate Nature within us becomes increasingly harder to suppress...

"Therefore, unlike those younger Familiars who can endure it, we accidentally lost control and overdid it in the human cities. As a result, the Lord chased us back and forbade us from going out again. Up until today, it has been a full three years..."

She cautiously glanced at Fisher again. Not knowing what exactly came to mind, she said with some indignation,

"Those Lord Demon Gods rely on their immense power to do whatever they want in order to deeply satisfy their Innate Nature to the maximum extent. But what about us weaklings? Not only do we have to obey their commands, we even have to exercise restraint when satisfying our own Innate Nature, all while worrying about exposing ourselves completely to humans and ruining the Lord Demon Gods' plans...

"Hah... staying in this sunless, desolate place void of people for three long years, day and night we suffer from the torture of our Innate Nature... some of our brothers and sisters have even died of madness because of this. We... we just wanted a man, even if just a little... giving us a little would be enough..."

As she spoke, perhaps thinking of something in her mind, her face began to flush again. It seemed that ever since Fisher arrived, the already unappetizing Lord of Souls, who had been squeezed completely dry, had lost all appeal. Moreover, he wasn't nearly as handsome as the powerful Lord before her.

Mitra, kneeling on the ground, unconsciously touched downwards with her right hand. That unsatisfied and hungry demeanor showed that they were suffering terribly from their Innate Nature. Their prior demands on the Lord of Souls were merely drinking poison to quench thirst, completely incapable of satisfying them...

The Lord of Souls was just a half-dead living corpse. His obsession with death had basically overpowered all other desires. What's more, he originally had a beloved who had long since passed away, and he wasn't someone to forget his affections and forsake his duties, naturally making it impossible to squeeze out an adequate amount of Fallen Self-Nature from him.

However, this Lord of the Mythic Rank... oh my, if only she could taste the flavor of the Fallen Self-Nature upon him, then it truly would be worth dying for...

But just as Mitra was thinking of this, a verdant mark suddenly barged into her disappointed sigh-filled gaze, engraved directly upon the chest of the man before her.

That intense Demon God aura, that extremely conspicuous crown symbol...

That is...

"Lord Baimon! You are Lord Baimon's Favored One?!"

Mitra's face turned pale. She panicked tens of thousands of times more than when she initially saw Fisher, as if merely mentioning that name would completely obliterate her soul in frightful terror.

Under the astonished gazes of Fisher and his group, they abruptly found that the succubus before them suddenly became incontinent, being so frightened that she couldn't even maintain her true humanoid form, while the flame on her tail grew increasingly faint...

"Lord Baimon... we didn't mean to... please don't test and torture us anymore..."

"When we were in Naris, we really couldn't hold it back... that's why... we didn't intentionally ruin your matters... please spare us..."

Fisher furrowed his brow, watching Mitra violently smashing her head onto the ground to kowtow towards him, seemingly begging him for mercy, or rather, begging for mercy from the existence she spoke of.

But his thoughts were completely gripped by the information within Mitra's words. He furrowed his brows and quickly asked,

"Baimon... wait, what did you say? Where were you sent by Baimon previously?"

"Baimon... wait, what did you say? Where were you sent by Baimon previously?"

Fisher furrowed his brows and asked Mitra, who had just spoken, so sternly. Perhaps the intimidation unintentionally exuded from his eyes was too intense, and coupled with the coercion of his Mythic Rank, it made Mitra—who was already badly frightened by the existence of "Baimon"—even more terrified.

She trembled, stepping backward while shaking her head,

"W-We were sent to a human city named... Naris... no, Saint-Nazareth."

"How long ago?"

"...Three and a half years... there were also sisters from four years ago, but it was around that time."

Just as she was about to say more, she slightly froze, pausing for a moment before providing the answer Fisher wanted.

Four years ago...

In other words, it was within a very short period after he left this place and traveled back to the past. It was even highly likely that Helaire had arranged this immediately after knowing he had left... She truly had planned these things for too long, to the extent that it had been like this ever since she learned of the World-Ending Prophecy from Gui ten thousand years ago?

Fisher was momentarily filled with doubt and suspicion, as for a time, he was somewhat unclear about what the current relationship between Elizabeth and Helaire truly was.

Previously, when he called the Golden Palace, the inner court official told him that Elizabeth was probably aware of the war situation here, so Fisher felt she was completely in the know regarding the demons, or at least she was aware of the deployment of Barbatos and Agreas.

But the succubi had entered Saint-Nazareth a very, very long time ago, even before humanity formed the allied forces to crusade against the Southern Continent. As such, he could no longer be certain if Elizabeth was fully aware of this.

Thus, he couldn't help but ask Mitra again,

"Then what exactly did H... Baimon tell you all to go to Saint-Nazareth for?"

"For... what?"

Mitra appeared somewhat sluggish as if she had been scared silly, suddenly and inexplicably repeating Fisher's question.

Fisher thought she hadn't heard clearly or didn't understand, so he emphasized his question,

"Mm, you said earlier that you were afraid of ruining her matters, so what exactly did she want to do in Saint-Nazareth?"

Mitra's pupils dilated bit by bit, showing a hint of scattered light within, yet her tone and expression remained vivid. She hesitated for a moment, then said with lingering fear,

"W-We all don't know. A Lord like her wouldn't tell us her motives either... But back then, Lord Baimon arranged for us to work inside human institutions. The City Hall, the Parliament, and the Police Department—each of us was assigned differently. Some were to search for spies, while others were merely arranged to stand by... Back then, I was standing by at the City Hall. I thought Lord Baimon wouldn't be too strict, so I absorbed the Fallen Self-Nature of many colleagues in one day, which is why..."

Although the submissive Mitra said it like this, based on her succubus identity and her thirsty demeanor just now, Fisher didn't doubt in the slightest that she had even hosted illicit parties right inside the City Hall offices. No wonder she was chased out by Helaire and locked back in the Demon Dynasty.

"Spies? From other nations?"

"Mm, but besides those, mainly those 'Slimes' who are skilled at disguising themselves... Earlier, I heard that an attendant deeply trusted by Lord Baimon caught a slime who had been lying dormant in Naris for a long time. That slime was even a mayor of Naris..."

"..."

Slimes?

That group of Northern Border tribesmen disguised and operating in various places...

Furthermore, Fisher still clearly remembered that when he was in the slimes' Borderland, he had a fleeting encounter with that slime disguised as the mayor of Naris. He didn't expect that right now he had already...

Mm, Fisher didn't doubt his current fate in the slightest.

Listening to this, it seemed everything this group of Demon Attendants did in Saint-Nazareth was actually for the good of Naris. Could this also be part of Elizabeth and Helaire's demonic transaction?

"What about the Golden Palace? Were none of you assigned by Helaire to positions related to the Golden Palace?"

"Probably not, I haven't heard of any sisters working there."

"..."

Fisher furrowed his brows. From the words of this succubus, he also had to confirm that Elizabeth was indeed the one cooperating with the demons, and she knew everything about it.

Although he knew Elizabeth sometimes used unscrupulous methods to achieve her goals, he sometimes felt that the previous power struggle was an extreme situation, which was why she cooperated with Erwind, putting all her eggs in one basket using the lives of so many slaves as well as Blake and his wife.

Fisher naturally understood that this was wrong, yet he still harbored illusions about her. To put it bluntly, this was compassion born from selfishness, because of the love they once shared in the past, and because of the hardships she had endured.

He hoped they could both learn from past lessons, hoped she could be worthy of the throne she had piled up with so many corpses and so much blood, and become the capable Empress she spoke of who far surpassed her elder brother Dexter's talents...

Borrowing the power of demons and contracting with demons to conduct state affairs—could this be the correct path?

Fisher didn't know, but he had just seen Solomon's fate, and his end was the best proof.

Hearing this, Fisher's heart suddenly felt a bit heavy, but he didn't say anything, burying this heaviness deep within his heart before turning around to set off.

He still had to hurry and save time.

"Jasmine, Holland, we..."

But just at this moment, from the corner of his eye, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a faint silver light flashing at the waist of a female succubus behind Mitra, shooting straight into his eyes.

Fisher's attention was drawn to this fleeting silver light. He immediately looked over and found that it was simply an iron box pinned to that succubus's waist.

Just as he was about to retract his gaze, something in his memory rushed into his mind.

He turned his head to look at that group of succubi in disbelief, immediately striding toward the succubus behind Mitra and yanking the iron box from her waist.

"Ah! My Lord... this Lord..."

"Professor Fisher?"

Exclamations of alarm from the surrounding succubi arose, but not a single one dared to step forward to reclaim the iron box he had taken. As Jasmine, who had just been about to leave behind him, also turned her head to look at him in confusion, wondering why Professor Fisher would suddenly snatch a succubus's belonging.

She also stepped forward a little, examining this small iron box together with Fisher. It was the moment this iron box entered her sight that her pupils also shrank uncontrollably.

But the iron box had already grown somewhat rusty, clinking and clattering inside, seemingly containing some things this succubus kept close to her, only using this box to hold them.

But Fisher and Jasmine didn't care in the slightest about what was actually inside the box. He only looked at the box, looking at the somewhat blurry herbal sigil on it and the Naris text inscribed upon it.

There were two lines of words written on that box,

"Healing House", "Employee Exclusive".

That is, the pharmacy founded by Jasmine's aunt Muxi, which had initially extended Blake's life.

Besides the Healing House, there was another enterprise under Blake's name.

"Pink Pavilion".

Fisher gripped the iron box tightly, his gaze sweeping coldly across the group of succubi beside him, and said,

"You are lying, you all absolutely did not go to Saint-Nazareth four years ago!"

Jasmine also drew her sword once again, pointing it at Mitra from just now, and said,

"Speak, what exact connection do you all have with Blake? Why do you have an internal box from the Healing House? You used to work there!"

This box was exactly the same model as the one Muxi had sent into the sea back then. Only internal employees of the Healing House would have it, and it generally would absolutely never be leaked outside. How could it bafflingly and unaccountably appear in the hands of this group of succubi?

It could only explain that this was something they were able to obtain by following a logical course; they had either worked in the Healing House or the Pink Pavilion.

"W-We..."

Mitra's pupils shrank bit by bit, as if the light contained within was dissipating little by little. It seemed that light hadn't anticipated this turn of events either, instead having its flaw caught by Fisher.

However, the momentary miscalculation of that light resulted in her being completely unable to utter a single word, as if the sensory organs of her throat had been stripped away. She couldn't even offer a decent explanation temporarily, only able to respond to Fisher with silence and stupor.

Seeing this scene, Fisher didn't follow up with questions for the moment, but an unbelievable brainstorm had already flashed through his mind.

If this group of demons directed by Helaire had entered Naris a very long time ago, then they must have started accomplishing something for Helaire back then.

Moreover, Helaire herself wasn't sealed to begin with, having known Fisher a very long time ago. She was also the only free Mythical Species surviving in the world; the things she could do were so numerous that it was beyond Fisher's imagination.

Then, would Helaire strike out at the other ladies he knew back then because of her relationship with him ten thousand years ago?

No, highly unlikely.

If she had truly done so, then he shouldn't have known other women, or even if he did, they would definitely be secretly torn apart by her?

Maybe she had originally wanted to do so, but had to give up due to certain reasons...

It was right at this moment that Fisher suddenly remembered the metaphor she had told him in the shipyard.

She said that because of a certain 'fish that escaped the net', he had consequently embedded these ladies holding deep relationships with him into his body like hammering in nails, unable to be pulled out.

So, she might have tried pulling out these 'nails', but had either failed, or... succeeded, yet resulting in consequences unacceptable to her.

Reaching this point, Fisher suddenly felt hair-raisingly terrified.

Think about it, if operating on the premise that "Helaire has always been watching him", then from the time of his birth up until he traveled back to the past, she had always known and understood him. There were a great many things she could have done...

Could his picking up the Demi-Human Girls Completion Handbook have been related to her?

Could his separation from Elizabeth have been related to her?

Could Teresa's death have been related to her?

No, impossible. Even if that Gate of Victory was the exact opposite, there could also be errors. It couldn't be that because the person opposite to him said that the Sister Teresa on his side naturally died of illness, that it must definitely be an accident on his own side...

If Helaire was the one who killed Teresa...

Fisher simply didn't dare to imagine this possibility.

If it truly was so, he might never forgive her forever, even if she had once shared such an intimate relationship with him...

Calm down!

She had no reason to do so; he was merely speculating and letting his imagination run wild.

"Buzz..."

His cheeks unconsciously began to squirm, as if the Chaos within his body was spurred by this feeling, fluctuating alongside his current emotions.

"This Lord..."

"Get lost!"

"Boom!"

Seeing the nearby Mitra still about to say something fawningly, Fisher's already extremely irritable emotions finally erupted uncontrollably. His terrifying power instantly crushed and exploded the box in his hand. Following a wave of his hand, a strong gust of wind mixed with explosive sounds extended towards that direction.

Along with the sound of bones shattering one after another, an alarming and massive trench also rose from beneath the pink ground. At the end of the trench were the scattered and unconscious succubi who had been struck flying and dropped.

They were just workers and entirely likely ignorant of all of Helaire's plans. Fisher was merely punishing them for deceiving him.

But such deception did not ultimately stem from themselves, but from Helaire. In other words, Helaire might've always been doing many things he didn't dare to imagine under the cover of lies.

Including this time, if that group of demons had truly entered Saint-Nazareth under her manipulation, then would misleading him into constantly thinking Elizabeth might know about this have been Helaire's stratagem?

Perhaps who he truly ought to ask in person was Helaire. He wanted to know if she had done anything before they recognized each other... But even if she did, she would undoubtedly lie. As such, Fisher also extinguished any thoughts of directly going to ask her.

He could probably confirm now that Elizabeth might truly not know about the existence of these succubi, nor know that the demons were in Saint-Nazareth. Could all of this have stemmed once again from another plan Helaire hadn't told him?

Although she had already secretly manipulated Blake into executing her own plans as early as the Pink Pavilion and Healing House period, if she knew about it, at the time of guaranteed victory, she even told him the matters concerning Erwind. There was no need to hide anything in this aspect.

So, could Elizabeth currently be surrounded by a group of Demon Attendants completely unawares in the dark?

Fisher gritted his teeth, seeming to have a bit of new understanding of the existence known as "Helaire", and these understandings were things Eimhart had told him previously, only that she had prior never displayed them before him.

"Professor Fisher, they..."

"We are setting off now, let's hurry and save time... They have nothing to do with your aunt's matters. At least Elizabeth and Blake both don't know of their existence."

"Sigh, it must be that fellow Baimon."

Eimhart sighed again, remarking thus as if accustomed to strangeness. Even if he didn't know what specific matter it was, according to Eimhart's viewpoint, as long as it was blamed on Baimon, then it was correct.

But right now, Fisher—who originally hadn't cared much for Eimhart's catchphrases—was pricked with annoyance by Eimhart's words. This uncertainty, especially the uncertainty related to Teresa, made him unable to wait to find the answers. However, unfortunately, the current situation forced him to temporarily put it aside.

He still had to go find the Base and resolve Raphaela's matter.

"Just walk, stop talking."

"Oh, let's go."

Jasmine pursed her lips. She rarely saw Professor Fisher so angry; even back then in Saint-Nazareth, he had never lost control like this. She was somewhat worried for him, but seeing that Fisher didn't want to say anything at this moment, she could only silently shut her mouth, take a glance at the severely injured succubi swept all over the ground nearby, and quickly caught up with Fisher's steps.

The Lord of Souls didn't pay too much attention to Fisher. Or even if he felt Fisher's behavior was abnormal right now, due to not being very familiar with him, even Jasmine found it hard to say anything, making it impossible for him as an outsider to speak up.

He just tugged at the top of his pants, walked quite a distance away to pick up the belt dropped on the ground, and fastened it.

Then he glanced at the ground not far away and gently hooked his finger. That group of birds which were originally dead completely dead bizarrely twisted their heads again, struggling to climb up, and flew towards his side 'chirping' and 'twittering'...

"...Where are we heading now? Have you found that whatever Base?"

Looking at Fisher ahead, whose complexion was poor...

"We need to pass through here, go to Barbatos's palace, and close his portal to buy time."

"Oh... then regarding my death, do you have any clues?"

Fisher's footsteps briefly paused. He looked at the Lord of Souls, also no longer wanting to conceal it from him and drive him using unwarranted motivation.

"...I do. Brace yourself, I'll tell you everything once we reach Barbatos's palace."

"Alright, Mr. Fisher."

The Lord of Souls narrowed his eyes, seemingly guessing something, but didn't say anything further, only silently hurrying along behind Fisher.

The atmosphere of the group was a bit heavy, not like how it was when they just exited Eliog's palace.

Fisher was because of Helaire's deception, Jasmine was because it reminded her of her aunt's matters, and the Lord of Souls was because of the answer he vaguely guessed...

Oh, Sir Book Artifact's mood was rather good, enough to hum out some songs.

He was seen humming some unknown tune on Fisher's shoulder with his raspy drake voice, appearing to be in a joyful mood, even floating up to record the scenery of the Gate of Carnal Desire nearby.

Seeing Fisher and the others dejected and discouraged, he still had to constantly blather a few sentences, speaking to Fisher with earnestly good intentions,

"Sigh, why so silent? Isn't this a good thing? At least you have profoundly realized that Baimon is completely untrustworthy. She is just a bad person, and you should stay far away from her, the further the better, having no relation at all is best... Yo yo, I already can't wait to see her weeping and whimpering appearance after she fails."

"Shut up."

"Oh, alright."

Without Baimon by his side, Eimhart's good mood wouldn't be affected, going so far that even his speech had become courageous... mm, anyway, he felt that even if Fisher scolded him, he wouldn't mind it very much.

Their speed was extremely fast, advancing along the original plan without paying mind to the palaces of those Demon Gods in the Gate of Carnal Desire, or paying heed to those little demons and Demon Attendants who either hid away or secretly peeked at them from the shadows.

They continuously advanced straight towards the Gate of Expression deep within, and were very soon going to arrive at the place filled with gales over there.

The first pillar behind that gate, was exactly the Demon God Barbatos.

Passing through the Gate of Carnal Desire, the pink hue that had lingered in that ambiguous atmosphere a moment ago slowly receded. It was as if the intense heat radiating from the lower abdomen gradually retracted, replaced instead by a slight chill washing over their faces and bodies, which seemed rather untimely within the Demon Dynasty...

That was the sensation of a gentle breeze brushing past their bodies.

"Ah, we are about to reach the Gate of Expression. We're finally passing through Fisher's paradise."

Seeing the steep stone walls ahead begin to transform, shifting little by little from pink to a deep azure, Eimhart—standing on Fisher's shoulder—couldn't help but take a breath of the cool breeze coming from the distant cave. Even his originally somewhat dull book expression eased up a little.

Jasmine covered her mouth and chuckled softly, but soon asked in confusion,

"So, Sir Book Artifact, regarding the previous two gates, the desires for 'Victory' and 'Carnal Desire' are both very easy to understand. But what does 'Expression' mean? It doesn't sound like any sort of desire at all."

Eimhart pondered for a moment, seemingly considering how to explain this topic. Beside them, the Lord of Souls also just opened his mouth to take over the conversation, but unexpectedly, Fisher suddenly said,

"The so-called desire for 'Expression' actually refers to a person's desire to gain external recognition. In the Scripture of Creation, people fell from the sky down to the surface and were afflicted with ten severe illnesses, 'Expression' being one of them... The Mother Goddess said: 'As punishment, you shall lose yourselves, you shall run tirelessly in the gazes of others, until you are exhausted and drenched in sweat yet growing weaker and smaller.' That speaks exactly of this desire."

The Lord of Souls shot Fisher a somewhat surprised look, clapping his hands together as he praised and said in disbelief,

"What proficient knowledge of the holy texts... It's just that, Mr. Fisher, this is an original sentence only recorded in the source text of the Scripture of Creation within the Cardo Holy Church. I only caught a glimpse of this holy text belonging to us believers through the Destiny power of that undying old man after joining the Creator's Society. Yet you..."

Holland scanned Fisher from top to bottom. The more he looked at him, the more certain he was: this Naris man before him was absolutely not a believer of the Mother Goddess.

In Holland's eyes, believers of the Mother Goddess always carried a strange feeling about them. It was a feeling unrestrained by external objects; even a guy like him who sought death daily like a walking corpse had this feeling, yet Fisher uniquely didn't have it.

But the bizarre part was that he seemed to know the Scripture of Creation completely by heart, even able to have phrases from the vast-as-the-sea source text at his fingertips. This was an ability that the vast majority of believers didn't possess.

Fisher raised an eyebrow, asking in confusion,

"Source text?"

"Yes, the ancient treasure guarded by the Archbishops resting atop the deepest Seat of God in the Cardo Holy Church. Legend has it that it contains the very first teachings bestowed upon humanity by the Mother Goddess. But because of its obscurity and the mysterious power it harbors, it's not something ordinary people can study. Only believers of the rank of Cardo Archbishop or higher who enter the Holy Church hold the qualifications to listen to the Archbishops or even the Pope, teaching its contents..."

The Lord of Souls shrugged, casually bringing his hand down to instinctively touch his wine flask along with the motion, only to find nothing. He froze in place—wondering if he had accidentally lost it just now when surrounded by that group of rosy skeletons...

This made him feel even more terrible than being unable to die.

"...But these are just the teachings I was taught since childhood by the nun who raised me."

"Wait, are you serious? Could that nun who taught you have been some Holy Maiden from the Cardo Holy Church traveling incognito who found you, and seeing your unique constitution and considerable wisdom, decided to recite the most profound and mysterious source text of the Mother Goddess in the entire world to you?"

"She was just an ordinary Naris nun."

"And you weren't besieged in your sleep by the Judgment Knights sent by the Cardo Archbishops?"

"...She never made enemies. She only had friends, remained unknown to the public, and didn't know many people."

"That's weird, then how did she know of such precious knowledge..."

"Are you certain that what I just recited is from the source text of the Scripture of Creation?"

"Incredibly certain and absolute, because I begged that undying old man for a very long time to see this thing. It was hard-won, thus leaving a deep impression in my memory."

"...I see."

Listening to the Lord of Souls's expression that looked as if his worldview had suffered a shock made Fisher realize that this so-called "source text" he spoke of was indeed extremely precious. But how did Teresa, an ordinary, unknown nun from the countryside coming to Saint-Nazareth, obtain such a thing?

Teresa was indeed very important to Fisher; she used to be Fisher's only family in this world. So when he discovered she possibly didn't die a "natural death", his mood uncontrollably grew irritated.

Now suddenly learning yet another piece of additional information from the Lord of Souls draped a thin veil of mystery over that ordinary, devout believer.

This was just another brief interlude, but Fisher's mood still hadn't recovered, just like before.

As previously mentioned, this wasn't merely suspicion toward Nun Teresa's cause of death but also because of Helaire's deception.

Sometimes deception was like cockroaches; when you expose one of them, then you had to ponder whether in all she had said and done in the past, were there lies told time and time again that still hadn't been exposed to this day.

Renee naturally also liked deceiving Fisher in the past, but the motives were different after all. Renee did it to protect and tease him; she practically wouldn't cause any plausible harm to others.

If Renee's lies were like colorful bubbles lingering around you that popped with a single poke, then Helaire's lies might be like a massive Schwari high-yield bomb hanging on you, where a slight movement would blow everyone near you sky-high, except you...

What's more, he already had Elizabeth as a precedent, making him feel somewhat disappointed with the misplaced trust he had given her previously.

At least back then, when he recklessly leaped into the Sea of Chaos to save her regardless of everything, he did so without any thought of cost or return, yet what he got back was still undisclosed deception.

His mood was consequently a little low, but only a little. Aside from his inner thoughts, he didn't display them outwardly, only inevitably leaking out a bit of a low pressure aura announcing to everyone, "I'm in a bad mood."

Right amid the fierce winds of the "Gate of Expression", Fisher caught sight of a thick, crooked-neck tree growing crookedly atop a deep azure reef at a glance. He didn't know what species that tree was to be able to grow in such a place.

And amidst that deep azure tree whose branches were shaken by the healing gale, a modest wooden cabin sat right atop that tree.

"Ha, that must definitely be Barbatos's residence!"

Eimhart declared as such. The few people beside him looked his way, seemingly implicitly asking how he knew.

Such eager looks for knowledge evidently satisfied the great Sir Book Artifact's "desire for expression". He was heard coughing twice proudly, saying,

"Heh heh, this is something you don't know. This thing was a gift from Agreas to Barbatos; it's an aberration she cultivated by imitating the true bodies of the elves. Furthermore, seeing as Barbatos's residence at the time happened to be rather dilapidated, he used the wood sprouting incessantly from the tree to build a new house."

Jasmine rubbed her chin and asked, "So, Agreas and Barbatos are also close friends, right?"

"False, the relationship between them can only be said to be ordinary, mere acquaintances. But that fellow Agreas loves giving people gifts to build good relations. Even for those Demon Gods she rarely bumps into or pays mind to on normal days, she would prepare gifts... hmm, Baimon should have received one too, although I don't know what it is."

With that said, they very quickly arrived in front of that giant tree. Fisher reached out and touched the bark of the tree. Because three Demon Attendants were sent over by Agreas previously, he also possessed a profound memory of Agreas's power of flesh and blood, which was akin to the power of the Life Completion Manual. Moreover, Erwind had even obtained clues concerning "Treasures" from her.

But the moment his hand touched this tree right now, a power of life and destiny imbued with vigorous vitality transmitted over. This gentle power brimmed with Order, on the contrary making Fisher—who had been exposed to the power of Chaos for too long—appear somewhat unnatural.

This is genuine elven power, and it also falls under the domain of Agreas's power?

"Is this also Agreas's power?"

Fisher began to analyze the "power" of that future enemy, seemingly unable to understand how something so diametrically opposed to the power of Life Chaos could originate simultaneously from her, a Demon God.

And the Lord of Souls behind him seemed to have understood his puzzle, softly spitting out a single word: "Curiosity".

His words instantly gave Fisher inspiration. Fisher, who was intimately familiar with the Scripture of Creation, immediately thought of the description of this desire within the classics: "You shall tirelessly obsess over newly born things, even if they are that dangerous; you shall glare like a tiger while spying upon their secrets, even if it brings about your shattered bones."

"Agreas is the powerful Demon God behind the Gate of Curiosity. This means she harbors a fanatical obsession for novel powers she has never seen before. Perhaps this is the only way to explain how she can concurrently possess so many powers that originally should be contradictory."

Fisher gave a hypothesis. With one hand resting upon the tree, he simultaneously unfurled Solomon's Dynasty Scroll on his chest with his other hand. In it, among the list of Demon Gods behind the Gate of Curiosity, the very first name bearing the brunt was Agreas's name, along with a few lines of words that could corroborate Fisher's viewpoint,

"Agreas"

"Earl, First Pillar behind the Gate of Curiosity"

"Warm-natured, loves to explore, encompasses all rivers, accommodates elegant powers"

In other words, the powers upon Agreas definitely weren't limited to just the two types he saw now?

While Fisher was taking advantage of the time to figure out the powers of these opponents, the Lord of Souls beside weren't idle either. He glanced at the wooden cabin tangled high up by the tree, then glanced to the side of the tree. Not planning to go up either, he merely opened his hands, letting those corpse birds hidden in his clothes fly up into the sky one by one, heading into the cabin.

"Chirp chirp twitter!"

As the Lord of Souls's pupils also turned white bit by bit, a flurry of noises also rang out from the wooden cabin that had been silent for who knew how many years. It wasn't until a moment later that he crooked a finger, letting those birds exit the cabin. At the same time, he also said to Fisher and the others,

"There aren't any special auras inside, just some weapons and clothing. It can be considered a very rudimentary place; the Portal shouldn't be in there."

"The Portal...?"

Just as he was muttering, his hand resting on the tree seemed to have caressed a slight indentation above, different from the other folds of the tree. He narrowed his eyes and looked, only to discover that a certain spot above the tree was currently emitting shining runes one by one along with his touch—precisely the symbols of a Demon God.

In this instant, Fisher's soul seemed out of body yet not out of body as his field of vision elevated bit by bit, akin to overlooking this massive, overlapping Dynasty from the perspective of a deity.

The areas behind the several gates with varying unique colors, as well as a faint sense of connection from the surface forming bit by bit.

"Professor Fisher!"

Watching Fisher freeze in place after touching those runes, Jasmine abruptly reached out and grabbed his body, wanting to pull him away. But she didn't expect that at the exact same moment she touched him, she suddenly experienced the same field of vision as Fisher.

"W-what is this?"

She mumbled a sentence. With a vacant gaze at the scene before her and that distant connection coming from the surface, she was startled by this bizarre perspective.

"Fisher and Jasmine seem to have already entered the perspective of the Portal... this tree, it's this tree!"

"Ugh, this tree is Barbatos's Portal. He only has this one Portal, which is exactly the tree before our eyes. And the one producing a connection with us is his corresponding Portal up on the surface."

Fisher quickly thought of the answer. While feeling the rough and thick bark of the tree before his eyes—which probably possessed a Mythic Rank—he pondered over the knowledge Pisces had bestowed upon him.

Perhaps he could use this Mythic Rank Portal to experiment with Mythic Rank magic right here?

He was only a tiny bit of progress away on the Soul Completion Handbook from being able to discern which Circle Heads were situated under the same Authority. The remaining read on that Soul Completion Handbook wasn't much anyway, and besides that tiny acceptable anomaly just now, he was perfectly fine otherwise.

If not, why not finish reading the Soul Completion Handbook right here, and then research the new Mythic magic that would gain his assistance?

Just as Fisher was pondering this matter, Jasmine—who was holding his clothes and staying in that "deity perspective" overlooking the Dynasty beside him—shook her head after hearing his words. She murmured a sentence toward Fisher,

"No... Professor Fisher, I'm not talking about this Portal, but the other one..."

"The other one?"

Fisher froze slightly. Pulling himself away from the Portal perspective of Barbatos's Portal, he looked at Jasmine behind him, who was still roaming within it, waiting for her next words.

And not failing Fisher's expectations, she seemed to have seen something within it that Fisher couldn't see. Even her azure eyes shimmered with a hint of crimson, reflecting the appearance of the object she saw.

Subsequently, she quickly told Fisher,

"Professor Fisher, that Base... I've sensed the specific location of that Base! Baimon didn't hide it in another place; she just placed it right beneath her own palace."

"Buzz buzz buzz!"

Fisher first gently placed his hand on this giant tree resting beneath Barbatos's residence. As a wave of bizarre energy transmitted over, the entire giant tree before his eyes was immediately affected by his powerful strength and became exceedingly precarious.

And when he did so, the mana circuits all over his body also became remarkably bright, reflecting the contortion hidden beneath Fisher's human appearance, looking just like an enormous, gaping bloody maw bent on completely devouring the souls of everyone near him.

What he was using was the chaotic power of the Soul Completion Handbook.

Among the several people present, he was the only one who had entered the Mythic Rank. And through reading the Soul Completion Handbook, his mastery of the power acquired from the Soul Completion Handbook had also reached the Mythical level, because he was almost at the end of the entire Completion Handbook, with only a little content left. He had also read more about the thoughts and memories of Caleb Uz, the owner of the Soul Completion Handbook.

According to what Eimhart said, the extremely convenient and useful thing known as demon Portals actually originated from a Demon God among the seventy-two Demon Gods named "Bachin". He possessed spatial abilities of unparalleled beauty, capable of even rivaling the Elf-kin in this aspect.

Therefore, all currently existing Portals essentially harbored his power of approximately the Sixteenth-Tier. Even if left here for Fisher to destroy, he would still need some time. This was presumably also the reason why a person like Eliog—who could shuttle instantaneously back and forth within the Demon Dynasty between her castle at the Gate of Victory and Baimon's palace—needed such a long time.

The others were temporarily resting not far away, waiting for Fisher's side to destroy it.

Taking a longer time was not entirely a bad thing; at least it allowed Fisher to ponder a few questions right now regarding the Soul Completion Handbook.

While reading the Soul Completion Handbook in the Dragon Court, Caleb Uz had once penned down a few thought-provoking sentences in the section meant only to be read at the Mythic Rank. He wrote, "The Dragon God discovered my scheme and attempted to erase me. I had to temporarily flee far from this continent, awaiting the next suitable opportunity."

The key to this passage was that the Dragon God was a bona-fide Demigod, and furthermore the most powerfully capable Demigod besides Xuan Can. Yet he had once tried to kill Caleb Uz, only for Caleb to successfully escape.

Fisher developed a hint of suspicion, namely that the Mythic Rank of Chaos seemed somewhat different from the Mythic Rank of the Order of this world.

He knew previously that existences of the Mythic Rank were all of Body and Soul Unity, turning the soul and flesh into a whole entity for tempering and training in order to elevate their rank. But the Mythic Rank of Chaos had a distinct separation; at this stage, their flesh and soul could be seen as independent existences and possessed vastly differing strengths.

This characteristic could be observed between Fisher himself and Eliog—demons were also Mythical Species constructed from the power of Chaos.

For Fisher himself, he had almost finished reading the Soul Completion Handbook, yet was unable to enter the Mythic Rank in the Life Completion Manual due to lacking a "Treasure." Thus, his current situation was that his flesh was at the Fourteenth-Tier, while his soul resided at the Mythic Rank.

Did that mean that the soul inside Caleb Uz at that time very likely also possessed the strength of a Mythic Rank, just that his flesh might not have been as robust, yet he could still rely on his soul to escape from the Dragon God's hands?

If this was the case, if even Caleb Uz could resist the Dragon God solely relying on the power of his soul, could Fisher himself also lean into this extreme, confronting Agreas and the rest by elevating the strength of his soul?

What's more, he still had magic...

He still needed to deconstruct the corresponding Circle Heads hidden behind the Authorities.

But the very moment Fisher conceived this thought, under the urge of his soul power, the giant tree before his eyes developed a hint of grayish decay as if being corroded. In this instant, Fisher seemed to feel the soul power in his hands materialize, drilling into the interior of the Portal transformed from this giant tree like an ulcer on the bone.

He strained his eyes to look, only to see the spot where he made contact with the tree suddenly become sticky. A sensation of extreme dampness and chilling cold pierced straight into his brain by following his arm, causing him to shiver.

Looking over, he saw that a faint layer of black substance resembling Black Mud had inexplicably grown over his palm. There was no telling where that Black Mud came from; it seemed to be the incarnated thirst of the soul within his heart. Singing, it drilled into the giant tree, transforming on the tree according to his will into the Circle Heads he was currently conceptualizing in his mind, as if it were the incarnation of his soul and consciousness.

Fisher swallowed a gulp of saliva, staring at the manifestation of this pure, chaotic power that didn't belong to this world. He hurriedly turned around to glance at his companions behind him, but only saw that Jasmine, Eimhart, and the rest were far away and hadn't noticed this side at all.

Caleb Uz had mentioned in the Completion Manual that this "Black Mud"-like substance was the incarnation of the [Soul Authority]. This meant that the density of Chaos within his body had already reached a sufficient extent, entering the final stage and allowing him to use this purest form of soul power.

Caleb Uz referred to this thing as the "Consciousness Abyss." It could extract the opponent's soul power out of thin air, and was also capable of collapsing many existing Rules constructs and powers.

Moreover, looking at the Circle Heads it formed as it stuck to the tree, Fisher also realized that because this thing was essentially a soul itself—meaning the essence of magic—it could also be directly used to engrave magic out of thin air.

"No..."

Just as he was examining the Black Mud on his hand, he suddenly felt the Black Mud adhering to his hand squirm, taking the skin on his body along with it. Subsequently, he seemed to hear a faint echo emerging from this Black Mud, just as if he were talking to himself.

It said,

"Don't be angry... okay..."

"!"

Fisher was startled and hurriedly tried to pull his hand back. As a result, his hand left the tree, yet the sticky Black Mud on the tree remained linked to himself. Only then did Fisher recall that this Black Mud had originally come from his own soul.

He began to realize that the entity conversing with him seemed to be the very Black Mud in his hands; it was like a nascent, immature consciousness, a consciousness growing within his body.

But when Fisher realized this, he surprisingly stopped panicking.

Caleb Uz had written about the properties of this thing in the Completion Manual: when the [Consciousness Abyss] is produced, it might alienate into a brand-new consciousness. This consciousness is essentially yourself, but in reality, it cannot be considered yourself either.

The specialization of this consciousness actually originates from the soul powers you have devoured. For example, Fisher had previously consumed a part of Erwind's soul, a tiny portion of the soul power of those succubi just now, and the power he obtained while recalling his past life.

According to Caleb Uz's experience, when a soul devours the power of other souls, this external soul power would still be mixed with attributes that don't belong to your own soul. This causes your subconscious soul to believe they do not belong to yourself, thereby alienating them.

When the soul power is weak and sluggish, this sense of "not belonging" wouldn't make a person conscious of it. However, when a power of the level of the Consciousness Abyss is produced, it would simultaneously intensify the alienation alongside the strengthening of your soul power, thereby producing varying levels of consciousness based on the souls you've siphoned.

Caleb Uz's own Consciousness Abyss possessed a high degree of intelligence, equivalent to his second personality, because he had eaten many other people's souls, making his alienation extremely severe as well. Fisher, however, hadn't eaten many souls at all.

No, if forced to count, Erwind could be considered one, and her shadow had also appeared when he previously read the Life Completion Manual. That should be proof of her sufficient existence.

Fisher pondered for a moment, pressing his hand back against the tree to continue destroying the Portal. Along the way, he attempted to converse inwardly with this rather immature-sounding consciousness,

"Angry? I am not angry."

"You are."

"Why do you think so?"

"Because... you feel that someone is lying to you."

"Can you read my memories?"

"I can feel that you are angry, and I can also feel why you are angry..."

Fisher paused for a moment before saying,

"Don't you think one should be angry after being deceived by someone else?"

"Yes, but being angry makes me feel uncomfortable too."

"Why?"

"I don't know... because I can feel it..."

What magical Black Mud, it was simply like a little child.

Caleb Uz advised paying no heed to the consciousness produced from the Consciousness Abyss, as it wouldn't influence you either unless you had already completely lost control and sunk into madness. Because fundamentally, even though this thing is formed due to your soul siphoning consciousness power within your body that doesn't belong to you, it is still you yourself.

Once your own soul grows accustomed to those absorbed powers, the pseudo-consciousness within the Consciousness Abyss will gradually disappear as well.

He had also prepared to heed Caleb Uz's advice and ignore this entity within the Black Mud that seemed to be a consciousness. However, he felt a bit of compassion due to the slight sadness revealed closely at the end of the other party's words, so he offered a final perfunctory reply.

"Mm, I'm not angry anymore."

"Great, love you the most."

"..."

Could it be that he was truly far too much of a scum, such that even the Black Mud produced from within his body took on a slight girlish demeanor?

Or perhaps, was it because Erwind's soul power was within his body, making the thoughts of this Black Mud lean more toward the feminine?

At the same time, the Black Mud in his hand penetrated deeper into this giant tree. The Circle Heads on the tree's surface contorted bit by bit, twisting continuously along with Fisher's thoughts.

This tree contained the power of elves. From the "Blessing of Destiny" bestowed upon them by the World Tree, Fisher suddenly remembered that the power of destiny was composed of time and space. Coincidentally, both of these Circle Heads were manifested in magic. Therefore, using these two Circle Heads should be able to form the corresponding Mythic Rank magic.

The Black Mud shaped itself into "Time" and "Space" on the surface, soon generating a wonderful resonance and slotting into each other without any hindrance.

"Fisher... Fisher..."

That Black Mud was still calling out to him. Fisher hadn't originally planned to pay attention to it, but then heard it say,

"The Circle Heads of Dreamscape and Soul."

Fisher raised an eyebrow. He had seen the former for the first time on the necklace Valentina's mother had left for him, whereas the latter he had constructed on the ship returning from the Southern Continent to Naris. Both of these should be Dagon's Authorities.

And if the Sea of Souls in the Spirit World had an owner, then the 'Soul' Circle Head he had conceived previously actually referred not to the soul body itself, but rather the power maneuvering within the Crevice that operated the soul, because the cycle process of souls presently all required the operation of the Crevice.

The Black Mud on the tree changed bit by bit, shifting into two Circle Heads. Just like before, they became inset within each other without any obstruction.

"Smart," Fisher praised the Black Mud with a sentence, then mumbled to himself, "Which of the souls I've completely devoured do you come from exactly? Could you really be Erwind? She was also a scholar, though she shouldn't have been proficient in magic."

"Do I have to be called Erwind? Is this the name you're giving me?"

"No, it's not... I wasn't talking to you."

"Oh..."

The immature voice of the Black Mud sounded somewhat disappointed, but it quickly cheered up and said to Fisher,

"I don't like this name either. I want to be called Raphaela."

"No."

"I feel like you really like this name... then what about Helaire, Elizabeth, Jasmine, Valentina, Alajina, Eliog?"

Are you reeling off a menu here?

Fisher was somewhat speechless. Seeing that this Black Mud indeed could sense the emotions inside him, he stated unquestioningly,

"None of them will do, these are all names belonging to other people."

The tone of the Black Mud also grew increasingly low, seemingly disappointed because it couldn't pick a name it liked.

Seeing it stop talking, Fisher thought it had given up. Having obtained two Mythic Rank Circle Heads all at once, this haul could be considered plentiful. The giant tree taking the role of Barbatos's Portal before his eyes also grew increasingly fragile, until the runes above completely lost their luster, and the spot Fisher touched snapped completely, emitting a violent crunch.

"Crack crack crack crack!"

The entire tree trembled violently, subsequently carrying Barbatos's residence above to topple toward another direction.

Barbatos's Portal had been destroyed.

Just at this moment, the Black Mud—having thought for a long time—spoke up again,

"Then can I be called Cupid?"

"...No."

"Is this someone else's name too?"

Fisher opened his mouth, momentarily at a loss for words.

Could Cupid be considered that person's name?

It was probably just a name she casually blurted out to flirt when she was teasing him, right?

Seemingly acting out of spite, and seemingly as the price for that fellow Helaire deceiving him, Fisher suddenly said to this pseudo-consciousness within his mind that couldn't even be counted as an existence,

"Then you shall be called Cupid."

"Great, I love you the most."

This Black Mud said this again, sounding both immature and joyful, who knew what it was happy about.

Fisher couldn't help but ask,

"Why must you love me?"

"Why wouldn't I love you?"

"..."

Fisher paid no further heed to Cupid. Meanwhile, Jasmine, Eimhart, and the rest waiting behind for him to finish their work also heard the loud noise of the tree breaking from this side. They turned their heads and walked over simultaneously.

"Professor Fisher, is it already done?"

"Mm, we are setting off to the Gate of Knowledge to rendezvous with Eliog... She only has Fourteenth-Tier power right now, so I don't know if she has finished."

The giant tree tilted more and more, causing all the corpse birds resting on the branches to spread their wings and take flight, waking up Holland, who was sleeping on the sandy ground nearby, making him look over in a daze.

"Thump!"

But right at this moment, the toppling process of the giant tree behind them came to an abrupt end, simply halting tilted mid-air, accompanied by a loud bang emanating from behind it.

Fisher froze slightly and also turned his head to look, rapidly noticing that there seemed to be a shadow standing behind the tree.

"Who is it?"

He spoke coldly. The Black Mud that had initially retracted into his body also dropped down bit by bit and trailed off his fingertips. Behind him, Jasmine also assumed a combat stance, while Eimhart hid behind Jasmine.

After Fisher's voice echoed out, they saw a... wildly handsome and alluring male with long red hair suddenly stretching out from behind the tree?

He tilted his head and smiled, winking his left eye at Fisher, while the other right eye that remained open flickered with brilliant pink stars resembling starlight.

And between his brows, there were two moderate-sized, black curly horns resembling those of a goat, highlighting his demonic characteristics.

Large patches of his skin were laid bare; only because the majority of his body hid behind the tree did it solely expose down to his fair and chiseled collarbones.

He charmingly stuck out his tongue at Fisher, busting out a sweet smile capable of seducing most people in the world, and pleaded to Fisher with a somewhat effeminate male voice,

"My apologies. Since everyone has already destroyed the Portal, could you show some mercy and let my husband's and my home remain?"

"You..."

Fisher's earlobes artificially turned red. It was as if this demon before his eyes could stir up his most primal and instinctive desires merely by existing, not to mention that Fisher himself possessed carnal desires far exceeding that of a mortal in this aspect.

This desire didn't actually have any specific target; it was simply as if the existence before his eyes ignited the desire itself, only wanting to partake in illicit acts.

Even Jasmine behind him blushed slightly, inevitably looking at Fisher in front of her with eyes as gentle as water. She reached out and tugged at his clothes, speaking in a low voice,

"Professor Fisher... this demon is not right."

And as if pulling wasn't enough, Jasmine even more excessively stroked his muscles, like a silent demand expressing her dissatisfaction at this moment.

Hiding behind Jasmine, Eimhart didn't dare look at the situation ahead, but when he heard the word "husband" along with that male voice, a conjecture couldn't help but burst forth from the bottom of his heart.

Could it be...

But before he could speak, the red-haired demon hiding behind the tree smiled and spoke up,

"Ah, I've forgotten to introduce myself...

"Hello, I am the Demon God Cidi, Barbatos's partner."

Watching the Demon God stepping out from behind the tree state his identity, Jasmine behind Fisher and the Lord of Souls who had just hurried over both faced him as if confronting a formidable enemy, especially since this Cidi was the partner of their current nominal enemy, Barbatos.

But Fisher narrowed his eyes and sized up the other party with a glance, yet raised his hand to stop the blade Jasmine had raised behind him. Because he realized the body of the Cidi hiding behind the tree was merely at the Thirteenth-Tier. In other words, just like Eliog, his soul had left his body; he wasn't the powerful true body released by the Base.

"Demon God Cidi, how did you escape from the Mother Goddess's seal? If I'm not mistaken, you aren't in your true body right now... it wasn't Baimon who released you."

Hearing this, Cidi only smiled faintly. From his fair and tender palm resting on the giant tree, a burst of pink energy resembling mist erupted forth. Accompanied by a soft "rustling" sound, the mist rapidly seeped into the toppling tree trunk, mending the originally gaping wide cracks.

Following this, he raised his hand to set the giant tree upright, restoring it to its appearance before it broke. It was just that now it was solely a giant tree carrying Barbatos's residence, rather than a Portal.

"This is a little magic trick of mine. It can make the limp hard, and the damaged radiate with vitality... You understand."

He smiled pleasantly and winked his right eye at Fisher, explaining as he walked out from behind the tree. His every gesture carried an implicit meaning of casting flirtatious glances, yet it wasn't so explicit, proving as elusive as a misunderstood illusion.

Without the tree's obstruction, his soft figure outlined by the red robe was entirely revealed, as captivating as water grass swaying in the water.

"You haven't answered my question."

"...Apologies, apologies. I've been lonely for too long, so I always like to say irrelevant things. But kid, you're right, it wasn't Baimon who released me. The reason I am awake now is entirely because of you."

Cidi curled a finger, pointing it at Fisher, causing even Eimhart to involuntarily fly up to his shoulder and raise his eyebrows, seemingly wondering, "Could it be that Fisher's charm has reached such a bisexual extent?"

With an even more abstract expression, Jasmine raised her sword, wishing she could dismantle this nonsense-spouting fellow.

"Because of me?"

Fisher's expression was abstract, evidently starting with the same train of thought as Jasmine and the others. But thinking about it carefully, Eimhart had said that ever since this guy united with Barbatos, he had no longer met outsiders alone.

Although this claim could still be considered a rumor, even Eliog had proven the narrative of their deep affection for one another, so Fisher felt the credibility of this claim was still quite high.

Then, what exactly was the reasoning behind this guy saying it was because of him?

"Yes, but precisely speaking, not because of you personally, but rather another fellow closely related to you. She is my friend... though it's quite normal for you little kids to have some misunderstandings about me, considering the rumors surrounding my reputation out there... But I've already turned over a new leaf." Cidi smiled pleasantly and stepped forward. When he spoke up to here, he seemed to suddenly remember something and reminded, "Ah, this phrase is also that friend of mine's catchphrase."

"...A friend closely related to me? You mean Eliog?"

"Although she is also my friend, but you don't quite understand, would Eliog ever say phrases like 'I've already turned over a new leaf'? She's more like a cat that sleeps all day, only inadvertently displaying the desire to eat others."

"Then this friend you're referring to..."

A loss for clues immediately washed over Fisher's mind. A friend who could know Cidi would evidently be very old, and one who even shared an intimate relationship with him... thinking about it carefully, among his familiar ladies, Asuka Karasawa, Helaire, Renee, and Eliog all belonged in this category, but not a single one matched that catchphrase...

At this moment, Eimhart standing on his shoulder actually put on dead-fish eyes and muttered to Fisher,

"Instead, this catchphrase sounds more like something you yourself would say."

"Hahahaha, exactly. With you saying that, I also find that you are very similar to her, both so strange."

Hearing Eimhart's complaining that exposed the bottom line, the delicate and charming Cidi also couldn't help but laugh as he clutched his own stomach. But very soon, the light in his eyes resembling purple stars subtly shifted, and simultaneously he opened his hands toward Fisher, saying innocently,

"There's no need to rack your brains thinking about it like this. It's impossible for you to have ever met the friend I speak of, but she indeed shares a very deep connection with you. Even for our meeting today, it is all because of her..."

"She?"

"Mm, Ying Zheng, Red Middle, Qin Shi Huang... any name will do. But I, as well as others who know her, without exception... prefer to call her [Demi-Human Girl Con]."

"!"

Fisher's pupils shrank slightly. The moment this name came out of Cidi's mouth, Fisher realized the "friend" he meant was actually the contributor to the Demi-Human Completion Handbook, that transferred person from another world.

That existence shrouded in mist who was unknown to the Creator's Society now had another friend who knew her, and the previous one who knew her was none other than the Moon Princess who had been dead for a long time within the Frostwood Sycamore Tree.

"Demi-Human Girl Con? Fisher, who is this? Your respected teacher?"

"...No."

Eimhart turned his head to look at him in confusion, while Jasmine was also shocked by this joke-like title, subsequently developing an intense curiosity towards the true owner of this name as well.

Instead, the Lord of Souls rubbed his chin, seemingly knowing who Cidi was talking about, because Fisher had previously shown that "Demi-Human Completion Handbook" to them.

As for Fisher himself, he opened his mouth, appearing utterly dumbfounded.

What the Moon Princess said was genuinely true in every respect. He discovered that the connections of that fellow "Demi-Human Girl Con" were truly incredibly vast. He still remembered that when the Northern Border was about to be invaded by the Chaos Breed, she just dusted her buttocks and went to find the angels, requesting four Holy Artifacts personally forged by someone else back (the swords of the Phoenix King and her three children). As someone who had returned to the Sanctuary, Fisher knew that the precious Holy Artifacts forged by the angels would absolutely never be given away easily; this sufficiently proved her relationship with that angel was also good.

And from the bottom of the sea, she was even able to call up a doctor of the Whale-kin out to treat the Moon Princess's stillbirth. Fisher felt there was a high probability that doctor was the Gou Wen he had known previously.

Above, she could reach the Sanctuary, and below, she could arrive at the Deep Sea. Mm, now they even had to add the Demon Gods in the Demon Abyss; it couldn't be described as anything but vast.

However, Fisher could generally guess the reason for her vastly extensive network. Although the title "Demi-Human Girl Con" sounded a bit perverted, at the time, the Moon Princess only had a few brief encounters with her... Yet she was astonishingly able to soar to the heavens and dive into the seas to provide the Moon Princess with so much help without even asking for any return. No wonder the Moon Princess's impression of her was so profound...

Mythical Species were higher beings, true, but they weren't heartless. Otherwise, the likes of Gabriel and Michael wouldn't hold such feelings towards other existences.

Therefore, with the Demi-Human Girl Con being so sincere and speaking from the heart, having so many friends wasn't exactly a surprise.

"It seems you already know many things about her; otherwise, your expression wouldn't have become so strange."

Thinking of this, the guard on Fisher's body slowly relaxed. He shook his head and said,

"Not many. In fact, my knowledge of her deeds far surpasses my knowledge of the person herself."

"Her deeds are the person herself. It's difficult to judge her by her heart; judging by her deeds is enough."

"In that case, as her friend, before your slumber, did she entrust you with some matters... concerning me?"

Cidi smiled and covered his mouth, nodding as he said,

"Indeed, and it's... an extraordinarily important matter, so important that she didn't know who else she could entrust it to back then. Which is why there was a sentence I said earlier that was actually wrong. In a strict sense, I am not merely her friend, but also her sworn oath-bound sister."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Fisher couldn't help but swallow a gulp of saliva, yet at a loss for what to say.

Looking at this beautiful red-haired male Demon God staring at him with a gentle gaze akin to a seven aunts and eight aunts type elder, even he began to feel uncomfortable.

Since coming of age, he had only ever seen this kind of loving gaze on Ms. Martha in the Saint-Nazareth rental house. Back then, she worried day in and day out for Fisher, who was nearing thirty and still unmarried, fearing he couldn't find a wife and would constantly act uninhibitedly outside until his soul dried up...

"The Demi-Human Girl Con and I knew each other from a very, very long time ago. That's a matter of five thousand years ago. Back then, I was still guided by my fundamental nature, wallowing in debauchery and pleasure. Not only did she help point out the path to liberation and aid me in pursuing my partner, but she also helped me with many other favors... In all these years, she's never asked for a single return from me. However, right at... hmm, a few decades ago? I can't quite remember clearly. She suddenly came to the Abyss, giving me soul power and asking me to help her with something at the right time..."

A few decades ago?

So recent?

Having once travelled back to ten thousand years ago, many of the matters Fisher faced presently matched the Mythical Species alongside their accompanying long eons, causing his perception of time to undergo a subtle shift.

The outbreak of the Ideal State, the birth of the Demon-kin happened ten thousand years ago; the emergence of the Spirit World Contamination, the invasion of the Chaos-kin were around six thousand years ago; the Mythical Wars were roughly three to four thousand years ago...

Many events were calculated by the distant past of thousands of years. This would sometimes make Fisher suddenly forget that he was just a human who had lived for less than thirty years.

Yet, if the Demi-Human Girl Con was still able to find Cidi a few decades ago, this meant that the Demi-Human Girl Con, like the Lord of Fate, might very well be part of the rare few first-generation transferred persons who had survived from the distant ancient times up to the present completely unharmed.

Fisher was somewhat in disbelief, murmuring a sentence to Cidi,

"A few decades ago... then where is she now?"

"She probably isn't around anymore."

Fisher raised his eyes to look at him, but saw Cidi shrug his shoulders as he said,

"Maybe she died in some unknown place; no one can determine this. No matter what kind of ending she meets, it would be normal, especially considering she's endured such torment for so long, and been mad for so long... But kid, I didn't come looking for you this time to introduce this sister of mine. The words I said just now were purely to prove my identity and to show I bear no malice towards you, so that you can trust me enough for what comes next..."

Cidi's charming smile faded bit by bit, subsequently adding solemnly,

"The things I'm about to say next are very important. Only you alone can hear them. That book beside you, the Completion Handbook owner stripped of his death, and your little Whale-kin girlfriend cannot listen. Not a single word."

Jasmine and Eimhart both shot a glance at Fisher. Seeing his side profile also turn serious, they could tell that the "Demi-Human Girl Con" Cidi spoke of might be an extremely important existence.

Jasmine pursed her lips. Without waiting for Fisher to speak, she had already sensibly reached out and grabbed Eimhart off his shoulder. Following that, she looked towards the surging magma in the distance and said,

"Professor Fisher, we will go wait for you at the Gate of Knowledge side first. Demon God Eliog should have also finished by now. We'll rendezvous with her first lest she comes looking for us."

Fisher thought for a moment before nodding, telling Jasmine,

"Sorry for the trouble. Once you see Eliog, explain it to her, but do not rashly go to Baimon's palace. Wait until I come over."

"When the time comes, I'll go over together with him. Rest assured, I won't eat your man."

Cidi pushed back his flowing red hair, curled a finger at Fisher, and took the lead to walk to the back of the tree. Meanwhile, Jasmine puffed out her cheeks, then gave Fisher's palm a squeeze before taking Eimhart away towards the distant magma.

As they walked, Eimhart's mutters could be heard drifting over intermittently,

"Ho, Demi-Human Girl Con... if it was that guy I'd almost thought someone was scolding Fisher... I was just about to say 'Good scolding,' and it'd be best to add a 'Scum Demi-Human Girl Con' too."

"Then isn't it quite normal for Professor Fisher to like other races? What's... there to make a fuss about?"

"Yeah yeah, you've just enjoyed your climax, your rosy complexion looks oh so nourished. Doesn't even think about how that human Empress over in Saint-Nazareth is about to look like a withered stick... Ouch!"

He must have been punched by Jasmine; Eimhart was prone to getting injured anywhere.

"Don't mention Elizabeth."

"..."

Fisher shook his head helplessly, walking towards the back of that tree where Demon God Cidi went.

It was only when he walked behind it that he found out Cidi had already climbed the tree, standing at the door of Barbatos's room above and signaling for him to come up.

"..."

Speechless, he inhaled a breath before stepping foot and launching up the tree, arriving in front of the wooden cabin entwined and wrapped up by the giant tree. He watched as Cidi reached out his hand and placed it on the doorknob choked by branches, undoing them one by one.

Seeing this, Fisher couldn't help but ask,

"Going in like this... won't Barbatos know?"

Cidi turned his head around and shot him a sideways glance before saying with a smile,

"At such a young age, why do you only spout these words that invite misunderstanding... Rest assured, not this way. Although I understand your meaning, seeing as you guys have even destroyed his Portal, do you really still worry he will know? It's only a matter of time before the matters here are exposed; otherwise, you guys wouldn't have been smart enough to destroy his Portal... This was a pretty good idea, did Eliog think of it?"

Fisher nodded without making a verbal response. By then, Cidi had already opened the door, revealing the not-too-spacious area inside.

As the door of the room opened, the fireplace inside automatically ignited with flames, illuminating the originally dim small cabin and exposing the neat two-person recliner and wooden table inside.

The surface of every item was sprinkled with warm firelight, adding specks of coziness to this cabin that had been devoid of vitality for so long.

"Hold on, change your shoes first..."

Upon entering the room, Cidi subconsciously extended his hand towards Fisher. However, Fisher swept his gaze over the dust that had grown all over the room due to the absence of residents for a long time. After pausing for a moment, Cidi turned his head to smile apologetically,

"Forget it, just come in like this. I'll clean it up later."

Entering the room, Fisher gave a rough glance at the decorations at the side. This place was different from Eliog's room; although that fellow loved to sleep, she also collected a whole lot of weapons and armor. In comparison, Barbatos's place could truly be said to have absolutely nothing, with only some furniture simple to the extreme.

Cidi waved his hand and explained briefly,

"The demons of the 'Gate of Expression' are mostly like this. They harbor the same 'love for pretending' across different domains. This is their fundamental nature, and my husband's virtuous reputation from the past largely arose from this. Up until now, this habit probably still hasn't completely changed..."

Fisher retracted his gaze, bringing them to the main topic in passing,

"What is the matter that the Demi-Human Girl Con wants to tell me?"

Cidi raised his hand, pulling a small box out from his embrace at the same time, and completely solemnly said,

"There are a few reminders and rules she hopes you take note of, as well as an item to give to you. What I am about to tell you are entirely her original words, with not a single word altered. I will let you know when it's my turn to speak..."

"One, both World-Ending Prophecies are true; Two, allies are fallacies, and fallacies are allies; Three, you are the key to resolving the World-Ending Prophecy; Four, there are one or six existences intending to destroy the world beyond the Barrier; Five, the Gods are Chaos; Six, be wary of the ocean; Seven, you must travel to the Spirit World, for all secrets are hidden there."

Every single word in Cidi's solemn speech rang like a resonant bell. The moment those sentences entered his heart, Fisher also firmly imprinted all these ambiguous statements into his mind.

But before he even had time to think about the specific meanings of these rules, Cidi had already opened the box before him, containing a parchment with a map engraved on it.

"I've left you some very important treasures right in Saint-Nazareth. Remember to follow the map's instructions to the designated location to retrieve these items. The gate to enter cannot be discovered by anyone but you. The gate to enter cannot be opened by anyone but you. When you discover that door, write down the incantation symbols I laid down and read it out loud. You will then be able to enter and see all the things I've left for you. This is the final gift I am leaving you."

Cidi's words came to an abrupt end. Subsequently, his expression also shifted slightly, becoming a tad more relaxed.

Simultaneously, dense pink energy swirled on his hand. He placed it upon the tabletop, using the energy to carve glowing symbols visible to others on the desk while speaking to Fisher,

"Those were all the words that fellow had for you, as well as the incantation symbols she left you. These are the characters she used in her world. It's written like this, remember it..."

Fisher looked down and saw Cidi writing down two symbols somewhat unfamiliarly,

"女" (Female), "马" (Horse).

Fisher rubbed his chin and asked,

"Just these two symbols?"

Cidi pondered for a moment and nodded,

"That's correct."

"Then, how should they be read correctly?"

"Strange as it is, these two symbols are only read with a single pronunciation in her language."

"A single one?"

"Mm, read after me..."

Cidi coughed lightly, then struggled to imitate the phonetic sound the Demi-Human Girl Con had said to him back then.

"ma"

Fisher furrowed his brows. This Translation Relic didn't turn the language she spoke into a freely translated Naris word he could perfectly understand, unlike when he heard the soul of Asuka Karasawa speaking near him. Instead, it became an entirely foreign vocabulary from another world whose exact meaning was unknown.

It was only now that he realized that in the country where the Demi-Human Girl Con lived, such two symbols were originally meant to pronounce two sounds.

Thus, receiving Cidi's guidance and following his trick for pronunciation, he attempted to chant a password left behind by the Demi-Human Girl Con decades ago for the first time,

"...Mom (Ma)?"

Fisher tentatively chanted the "password" Cidi had taught him, then raised his head to look at him, seemingly inquiring if what he chanted was correct.

Cidi froze slightly, then smiled and said,

"Very standard, even more standard than mine. This is exactly the correct pronunciation for this password."

"I've memorized it, thank you, Demon God Cidi."

Fisher glanced one more time at the two symbols on the tabletop that originated from the hometown of the contributor to the Demi-Human Completion Handbook, firmly memorizing them in his mind while simultaneously pondering over the seven important reminders she had left for him.

He knew some of these seven pieces of information, or rather, he had some clues, but some he had never even heard of before.

First was the matter of the World-Ending Prophecy. On the night Renee appeared when Fisher was reading the Life Completion Manual, she had once told Fisher of another prophecy that was entirely different from the contents of the prophecy on the title page of the Demi-Human Completion Handbook. Back then, she said her prophecy was true and Fisher's was false.

But the Demi-Human Girl Con was now telling Fisher that both prophecies currently in his hands were true.

Then to logically deduce for a bit, considering both were true and similar in structure, could it be possible that the two prophecies also corresponded with each other in content?

If so, Raphaela is very likely related to the "Flame of the Soul," Jasmine to the "Twisted Life," the False God of the Barrier is the "God of the Sky," and Renee is the "Fallacy."

Although he didn't know why the prophecy would refer to Renee, who possessed the Infinity Authority, as the "Fallacy," if the four aspects of the two prophecies corresponded one-to-one, the second piece of content left by the Demi-Human Girl Con could be understood: she was emphasizing the fact that Renee was an ally... But to him, Renee was inherently a closely related female; was there really any need to doubt whether they were allies or not?

The first two warning messages from the Demi-Human Girl Con were limited, so Fisher began pondering over the subsequent ones.

The third stated that Fisher was the key to resolving the World-Ending Prophecies. This should relate to the peculiarity within his body, or perhaps it was related to him developing intimate relationships with several ladies by following the guidance of the Demi-Human Completion Handbook. Fisher wasn't too certain about this yet.

As for the sixth and seventh, Fisher roughly had some clues, because in Caleb Uz's notes, the term [Ocean] had also appeared. It seemed to be the true owner of the Sea of Souls within the Spirit World.

Moreover, he still remembered that ten thousand years ago when he entered the Mythic Rank and Renee's Authority materialized, she had reminded Fisher that he was exceptionally special to the Ocean...

Then, since the Demi-Human Girl Con said to "be wary of the ocean," and the "Ocean" she referred to here corresponded with the information Fisher obtained previously, she was reminding Fisher, "The owner of the Sea of Souls has already set its eyes on you; you must be extra vigilant and careful."

The "Ocean" wasn't a deity in the modern world, nor had Fisher ever seen its name outside of his Authority and Caleb Uz's notes. Thus, this existence whose rank must be at the tier of a deity should also be a type of Chaos.

Those targeted by Chaos generally never met a good end, which could be observed from the matters regarding a few transferred persons potentially favored by Chaos.

As for the final point about having to go to the Spirit World, Fisher could understand it well. Because that place was both the exterior and depth of the world, a place unrestrained by the Rules of the Gods, and it was also there that "False Gods" like the Spirit World Contamination—which were directly related to the World-Ending Prophecy—resided. What's more, ten thousand years ago, Fisher already knew that the Spirit World was the only direction those transferred persons could possibly flee towards. Many secrets being buried there was only natural...

But the ones that truly left Fisher feeling perplexed were the fourth and fifth statements.

[There are one or six existences intending to destroy the world beyond the Barrier]

[The Gods are Chaos]

Fisher recognized every single word in these two sentences, yet combined together, they appeared so abstract, rendering him entirely unable to understand.

The meaning of these two sentences was indeed straightforward to be frank, but the problem was that countless possibilities could be hidden behind this meaning. When everything is a possibility, in a certain sense it's equal to having no possibilities.

Fisher sank into deep thought for a moment before raising his head to look at Cidi before him, asking,

"Does Demon God Cidi have any clues regarding these messages she left behind? Or rather, did she provide corresponding explanations to you?"

Cidi regrettably shook his head and smiled as he said,

"Apologies, I have already told you word for word everything she said when she woke me. And I also feel that she didn't have much ability to elaborate further to me either; being able to say and do so much was already the limit of what she could manage back then."

"...What does this mean?"

"Kid, it means that she is also a transferred person, and furthermore, a transferred person who has lived for god knows how long..."

Cidi clapped his hands before telling Fisher, "When you first met her, you might have felt that her personality was eccentric, yet you could generally tell that this was her fundamental nature. But at the time she woke me, her appearance was absolutely unprecedentedly serious and peculiar. At that time, she was already at the brink of madness and collapse, as if being trampled upon and ravaged by an invincible enemy. That she could still articulate these words clearly was already an extreme stroke of fortune..."

And this also seemed to be why Cidi said earlier that no matter what kind of ending that fellow met would be possible, with the greatest possibility being that she died in some unknown place.

Hearing this information, Fisher instantly felt somewhat sorrowful in his heart. An existence like the Demi-Human Girl Con, whose deeds sounded so colorful and whose Completion Handbook was entirely different from other transferred persons, still couldn't escape the same fate...

"I see..."

Looking at Fisher's somewhat complicated expression, Cidi stretched out his fair and tender palm to cup his chin. He pondered for a moment before adding a sentence,

"However, based on my experience of knowing her for several millennia, that fellow strongly dislikes speaking in riddles. Aside from a mouth brimming with trash talk, she never beats around the bush regarding matters that must be spoken of seriously."

"Do you mean that these unintelligible hints she gave actually don't harbor deep meanings, but are entirely meant to be taken at face value... and it's simply because I don't possess enough information now that I'm unable to comprehend them?"

Cidi raised his index finger and gently wagged it before saying,

"That's one possibility... There's another possibility: the information she wanted to tell you is very important, yet she couldn't state it directly, and could only remind you in a roundabout manner."

"Couldn't..."

"Yes, perhaps due to some reason, she was unable to speak frankly. But I must remind you, that fellow was a profoundly capable individual. Being a human who could mingle harmoniously with so many Mythical Species before the Mythical Wars isn't something that can simply be explained away by the hobby of being a 'Demi-Human Girl Con'... If that whatever reason could prevent even her from speaking frankly, then you'd best prepare yourself mentally..."

Terrifying dark clouds churned within Cidi's pink eyes as he enunciated word by word,

"That reason making even her keep her mouth shut must definitely be terrifying and difficult to overcome."

Fisher fell silent for a moment before taking a deep breath and once again offering his thanks to Cidi. Following that, he reached out and unfolded the map left behind by the Demi-Human Girl Con. Looking at it with his perspective as a local of Naris, although she referred to the place as "Saint-Nazareth," it was actually quite some distance away from Saint-Nazareth, approximately fifty kilometres or so.

But his geography wasn't too excellent either, unable to distinguish the specific name of the place from that unmarked map. So he could only refold the map and tuck it properly into the Demi-Human Completion Handbook in his breast pocket.

"Thank you for your reminder, Demon God Cidi... by the way, do you know the current situation? Aren't you curious as to why we had to destroy your husband's Portal?"

Cidi fought off a yawn. Only upon hearing Fisher's question did a hint of doubt spill over his delicate and stunning face. He asked,

"Oh right, why did you guys dismantle my hubby's home and Portal?"

"..."

This Demon God Cidi was also slightly dense, or so Fisher discovered.

Fisher sighed and had no choice but to briefly outline the current situation to him.

After recounting it, he had originally thought this Demon God would show a somewhat decent reaction—even if it meant agreeing and tacitly allowing it, or disagreeing and rebelling. However, diverging from Fisher's expectations, Cidi instead appeared exceptionally calm, quietly listening to the entirety of it before propping up his cheek. Simply remaining there made him as beautiful as a painting, blurring the line between male and female, making one only want to feel this most direct source of beauty.

However, Fisher ultimately didn't have that sort of fetish. Although Cidi's appearance was indeed fine, and he was also a "demi-human" belonging outside humanity, for him it seemed, missing the "girl" suffix after "demi-human" made it a bit lacking in appeal...

It was only quite a while later that Cidi spoke with some distress,

"Baimon... really causing endless harm to people. But if it was all plotted out by her, then this wouldn't be surprising."

"You understand Baimon very well too?"

Hearing this, Cidi curled his lips, shaking his head as he said,

"I don't understand her, and I dare say there exists no one in this world who can claim to understand her, probably not even those Deities... No one knows what she is thinking, and no one knows the logic behind her actions. If you say there is some deeper meaning in a certain aspect, her conduct leans more toward amusement; if you say it is purely for amusement, from the span of time, she always manages to reap returns from it, just like the 'Base' she is using now... So, no matter what she does, it isn't surprising."

"She has never had followers, nor has she ever had any close friends who she could bare her soul to. Even in this decentralized Demon Dynasty where everyone acts in their own interest, she is the most eccentric demon among them, having always been completely all alone... Oho? Strange, kid, I suddenly realize that whenever I mention her, there is always a very complicated implication in your eyes. This implication doesn't seem like enemies, but more like bickering lovers..."

Fisher froze slightly. His gaze swept over the constantly swirling pink mist in Cidi's eyes. It was as if before that mist, the so-called "carnal desires" and "feelings" were all laid bare, transformed into visible entities.

"I had contact with her previously."

Fisher didn't explicitly mention that he knew her in the past, nor did he recount Baimon's earlier stories. Cidi, appearing wholly unconcerned with this, simply smiled and said,

"My eyes can see through the turbulent feelings of this world. Any complicated, unspeakable emotions can be smoothed out by me. Therefore, in my eyes, the relationship between you and her isn't as simple as mere contact, but rather akin to an unending, till-death-do-us-part... lingering entanglement.

"In the past Dynasty, although we weren't intimately familiar with one another, we could still be considered to know each other. Only Baimon made the others feel icy cold, hence no one ever truly understood her, and mentioning her merely invoked unfamiliarity. But I vaguely sensed a kind of solitude distinct from her icy demeanor, leading me to firmly believe that she indeed possesses feelings. It's just that we aren't the objects her feelings are directed towards, thereby preventing us from feeling anything..."

Upon hearing this, Fisher stirred slightly. In his mind, her smiling angelic face unceremoniously manifested within Fisher's mind.

That was solitude bridging a gap of ten thousand years, only today being narrated through Cidi's mouth for Fisher to hear.

"As for now... while I don't look too favorably upon you guys—because over there after all lies my husband whose true body has already departed this place, alongside that fellow Agreas, making it probably impossible for you guys to oppose them just relying on yourselves. I won't stop you either, seeing as you share such a connection with that friend of mine, and Eliog is helping you. It puts me in quite a difficult position choosing a side..."

Cidi's finally stated attitude pulled Fisher out from his memories of Helaire. He looked at Cidi before him with gratitude, then opened his mouth and said,

"Thank you for your help. I've gained quite a fulfilling bounty this time. I will personally seek verification on your friend's words afterwards, after I resolve the matters here..."

"Mm-hm, then let's set off for the Gate of Knowledge now. Although I won't do anything, if there's an opportunity, I'd still quite like to see my husband one more time."

"However, I still have one final matter I wish to inquire about..." Before Fisher left, he suddenly thought of something and asked Cidi, "Did that friend of yours know decades ago that I would definitely arrive here today?"

Cidi smiled, intertwining his fingers as he asked,

"What, suspecting that everything you've encountered and experienced before was all planned out by her?"

"Is it possible?"

"I wouldn't know either. But what she told me when she requested my help back then was, 'If there comes a day in the future when you wake up, it means the soul energy I left you has taken effect. Please go find a human man bearing my aura, and relay some words to him'."

Fisher froze slightly, only then bursting into laughter as he said,

"I see."

"Mm, then that's all. Let's go, kid... we set out for the Gate of Knowledge."

Cidi stretched lazily, stood up, and brushed his slender red hair draping over his shoulders behind his head, saying this to Fisher.

"Buzz buzz buzz!"

Passing through the "Gate of Expression" which manifested rugged mountainous terrain where gales howled, heading all the way towards the magma deep within, one could see a touch of profound darkness resembling starlight. In front of that spiral-shaped cave outlined by crimson magma, Eliog sat cross-legged on the ground watching Jasmine, Eimhart, and the accompanying group approaching, massaging her temples quite distractedly while her tail swayed uneasily behind her.

"Which means, awooo, he happened to meet the husband of Barbatos—the one we're supposed to deal with—over there, and even though he's currently at the Thirteenth-Tier, Fisher still... eagerly followed him?"

Jasmine pursed her lips, remaining rather unresigned to Eliog assuming the posture of a big boss interrogating her as if they were sinners. Pouting her lips, she said,

"That Demon God Cidi possesses some crucial information related to someone Professor Fisher knew previously. Professor Fisher himself said he wanted to go."

Then, it was fellow student Eimhart's turn to raise his hand and speak, expressing his view,

"It's also possible that fellow Fisher was seduced by Cidi."

"You shut up!"

"You shut up!"

Eliog and Jasmine simultaneously snapped with darkened faces, causing the Sir Book Artifact—who was livening up the classroom atmosphere—to suddenly be struck as if by lightning. Gloomily falling to the ground, he crawled obediently with grievance, with only the Lord of Souls casting a sympathetic gaze his way.

Instead, after hearing Jasmine's words, Eliog rubbed her chin, muttering a question,

"Related to someone... male or female?"

"Hey, Eliog!"

And right at this moment, a somewhat effeminate and coquettish male voice abruptly drifted over from not too far away.

Eliog's eyebrow twitched; her whole body shuddered. Looking up, she rapidly spotted the red-haired Demon God Cidi obediently trailing behind an expressionless Fisher, reaching out his hand and waving it above his head, seemingly greeting her.

"Cidi..."

Eliog spoke thusly with quite a headache. Before she could begin to say anything formal, she saw Cidi sizing up Eliog, his expression suddenly growing somewhat surprised.

His dense pink, star-like eyes rapidly flickered. Then, he was seen pointing at Eliog and saying,

"Oho? Eliog, you seem to have a little bit of an unsatisfied desire playing up there?"

"..."

Hearing Cidi's seemingly surprised words, the gazes of the rest all turned towards Eliog sitting at the entrance of the Gate of Knowledge. Feeling the almost tangible stares of the others, even her wheat-colored skin couldn't conceal the faint pink flush spreading across Eliog's face.

Beside Eliog, Jasmine, who had only just eaten her fill, pursed her lips and also somewhat embarrassedly averted her gaze slightly. Even her initially somewhat jealous possessiveness recoiled, because truth be told, that punishment opportunity earlier was yielded to her by none other than Eliog...

However, there was no need to feel guilty; she was exercising this opportunity for herself. Even if Raphaela were left to choose either herself or this Demon God of unknown background, she would definitely choose herself... right?

Jasmine thought so somewhat embarrassedly, not knowing whether this embarrassment was directed towards Raphaela or someone else.

Out of the corner of her eye, Eliog caught sight of Fisher's somewhat surprised expression due to Cidi hitting the nail on the head. Her fists also clenched unconsciously as she simultaneously gnashed her teeth and told this detestable guy, Cidi,

"...Cidi, if you don't know how to speak, you can just shut up. Right now I really want to twist your head off and kick it like a ball."

Cidi smilingly covered his mouth and added apologetically along the way,

"My apologies, did I say something wrong? I'm truly sorry, I thought it was so obvious that anyone could tell~"

"Do you think everyone is like you, with a head full of nothing but erotic thoughts?"

"What's wrong with erotic thoughts? Isn't your head also full of them right now?"

"..."

Cidi appeared to not take Eliog's words seriously at all, even proudly licking his lips and winking at her, exuding clear confusion. But this display naturally couldn't possibly persuade Eliog; instead, it made her clench her fists even tighter, looking to be genuinely somewhat agitated by Cidi's two sentences.

Fortunately at this moment, Fisher beside them suddenly spoke up, interjecting the conversation between the two bosom friends who hadn't seen each other in years, so they wouldn't be in such a state of extreme tension,

"Cidi knows a senior of mine, and along the way brought me some important information on her behalf. He has also promised not to help Barbatos, and of course, he will not help us either... Eliog, the Portal on Agreas's side?"

Eliog shot a glance at Fisher, feeling somewhat relieved yet slightly disappointed seeing him pretend not to have heard Cidi's words. However, this disappointment and relief entirely amalgamated together, only slowly returning to her previous weak and feeble, sluggish state.

She nodded, yawning in passing, and stood up to say,

"Done. She can't teleport over through there anymore, nor will she momentarily discover anything amiss."

"Mm, then let's make the best use of our time."

"Where to?"

Fisher shot a glance at Jasmine, subsequently saying,

"Jasmine mentioned previously that she sensed the specific location of the Base. It's right near Baimon's palace. We must head there now."

"Alright, awooo, listen to you... on the way, I'll see if I can smash her house up."

"..."

The sluggish Eliog actually revealed a hint of interest regarding this matter, making Fisher unable to help laughing.

As for Cidi beside them, he only quietly watched Eliog and Fisher converse all along. Within the dense pink starlight solely lay an indescribable benevolence, which instead made Fisher feel somewhat unnatural...

Strange to say, clearly Fisher had only just told him moments ago that he had a certain relationship with Helaire, yet at this moment, whether he saw Eliog's state or Jasmine's somewhat shy appearance, he actually wasn't surprised at all.

Was it because, as the First Pillar of the Gate of Carnal Desire, he could see through the feelings of others? Or because of Fisher's relationship with the Demi-Human Girl Con, having this "Demi-Human Con" as a precedent meant Fisher could do whatever without surprising him?

The clamor at the entrance to the Gate of Knowledge paused for now. They swiftly turned their heads and walked towards the increasingly profound and secluded cave ahead.

And just upon stepping inside, Jasmine experienced a sensation she hadn't felt in the other several layers of hell. It seemed to be a frigid chill flowing upstream from the ground, travelling along her feet and spine, causing her front to tremble slightly.

She hurriedly turned her head to look at the people beside her, only to discover they more or less experienced this situation too. It was especially so for the Lord of Souls; his strength was the lowest here, and he was the most deeply affected. Even his fingers had already started trembling uncontrollably.

Fisher naturally perceived that secluded chill as well. Just as he looked down at the ground, Cidi behind him had already preempted Eliog in explaining for them,

"The ten gates of the Dynasty were all for sealing the Authority of Death slumbering beneath the Dynasty. Out of the ten gates, four are the most important, namely the Gate of Knowledge with Baimon as the First Pillar, the Gate of Gluttony with Beelzebub as the First Pillar, the Gate of Indulgence with Asmodeus as the First Pillar, and the Gate of Power with Astaroth as the First Pillar. Because they bear the greatest portion of the Authority of Death's seal, the atmosphere here will also become more dangerous... However, the sensation here has never been so prominent in the past. It shouldn't manifest outwardly..."

Eliog snorted coldly. Looking ahead, she said,

"That's because that fellow Baimon's true body wasn't sealed, plus she hasn't returned here in many years."

"You guys seem completely unsurprised that she wasn't sealed by the Mother Goddess's seal."

It seemed Fisher only just discovered this blind spot at this very moment. This also meant that either Helaire fabricated some reason for them to deceive everyone, or it was that they all knew Baimon wasn't a demon, but an angel.

"We all know she is an angel. Even before the Mythical Wars, she fell out with the Sanctuary and defected to our side. Then, she explained her situation along with the remaining Kings. We basically don't manage any affairs; as long as the Kings agree, life goes on as before..."

"True enough, awooo. Being a subordinate of the Chain of Heaven isn't that easy, even if that flock of angels are all his children."

Fisher was well aware of this point. As early as ten thousand years ago, even Archangels Pandora and Remiel chose to rebel against the Sanctuary. From a certain perspective, it could already be known that the Chain of Heaven was truly unkind, making Helaire's ultimate choice to leave the Sanctuary unsurprising.

"We have arrived."

This profound passage wasn't considered too long, and it grew increasingly broader as they advanced. It wasn't until the very end of the entire cave that the scene ahead suddenly manifested.

It was a place entirely different from the scenes of other regions in the Dynasty. Fisher thought no terminology could describe everything before his eyes more aptly than the word "Abyss." For what appeared before their eyes were sheer cliffs extending downwards layer upon layer, alongside the magma burning beneath the cliffs, and many buildings rich in a chaotic aesthetic.

Standing on Fisher's shoulder, Eimhart abruptly trembled uncontrollably. Despite his mind being completely blank, he was instinctively awed by the scene before his eyes, as if these lifeless landscapes hooked onto the deep-seated fear in his mind...

"I—" he stuttered, only managing to speak out nearly seconds later, "I've been here..."

"You previously saw Helaire's palace down here, didn't you?"

"Yes, but I didn't come from here previously. I seem to remember I came from another place... was it a Portal I repaired? But Fisher, look quickly! That, that is exactly Baimon's palace!"

Jasmine, the Lord of Souls, and Fisher all peered down following Eimhart's astonished voice. Naturally, they quickly caught sight of a magnificent building standing tall on the reef in the center of the magma.

Unlike the other highly chaotic buildings, that building possessed immense aesthetic appeal. It was divided into upper and lower floors, composed of inner and outer physical forms continuously spiraling, resembling a conceptualized eye or a brilliantly beautiful vortex in the ocean.

The building thus stood lifelessly above the magma. Much like the residences of other demon brethren firmly locked down by seals, it too appeared to have been silent for a very, very long time, such that the originally aesthetically pleasing outer layer of the building was already covered by substantial dust, hosting the nests of magma stone beetles.

But even so, that building resembled the center of this Demon Dynasty, declaring its special existence to everyone before it.

"Baimon's lair, we've arrived, awooo."

Eliog leaped down ahead of them, and Cidi followed closely behind. Jasmine shot a glance at Fisher, seemingly wanting to go down with him. But Fisher still had to grab the Lord of Souls, a fellow who couldn't jump down, and take him down together—although this guy would also resurrect if he fell to his death, and Fisher honestly was quite curious to see how he'd resurrect if he plummeted into the magma...

But right now, time was of the essence, so there was no need to watch these meaningless experiments anymore.

他们依次从高空处落下，越是往下，拜蒙原本从上方看起来小小一点的宫殿便愈发巨大。

And right in front of that massive building, an enormous, mirror-like door blocked the path inside, reflecting the figures of Eliog, Cidi, and Fisher.

When Fisher looked towards that mirror surface, lines of text in various languages everyone in the group could comprehend surfaced upon its exterior. Written on it was,

"I am the 'I' of me, I am the thought of me."

"I am an unlistenable song; I am an imperceptible eye."

"Please tell me, what am I?"

A riddle?

Fisher furrowed his brows and turned his head to look behind, only to see that Cidi wasn't paying attention to this side at all. Instead, he was looking at the scenery elsewhere. Meanwhile, Eliog looked at him dull-wittedly, seemingly asking him what the answer was. Jasmine and the Lord of Souls were still thinking, while Eimhart was completely scared out of his wits, hiding into his chest, not daring to look yet forcefully squeezing one eye to peek inside.

"How about, awooo, just smash this door entirely? I've found her displeasing to the eye for a long time anyway."

"But this is Baimon's residence, you know?"

"So what? It's her dog kennel I'm smashing."

Eliog unhappily shot a glance at Cidi beside her, not knowing what he was barking about. But Cidi merely flicked a finger and said with a smile,

"Baimon's residence doesn't necessarily have any restrictions or traps set up. Besides, your true body hasn't emerged from the seal yet, right? Who knows if you can even withstand it..."

"Tch, then the answer is—"

"Soul."

Just as Eliog was about to say something, Fisher—who was staring at the riddle on the wall—suddenly spoke up.

Consciousness was an attribute of the soul, the substance of the self. Nothing was more fitting for the answer to this question than the soul.

"Crack crack crack!"

And just as Fisher expected, the moment he softly voiced out this answer, an extremely thin crack rapidly parted strictly from the middle of that mirror-like door. Following that, it slowly separated, revealing a dim space wherein a faint fragrance lingered.

"It opened?"

The space inside was pitch-black, and the ground was entirely covered in dust that hadn't been swept for a long time. It was precisely when that door opened that the space inside also automatically lit up with light, much like Eliog's castle, illuminating the scene inside.

However, what they saw was the ground littered heavily with scattered canvases and paints. Those paints were either completely used up or perhaps only half-used, with many having long dried up into solid residue. Aside from these items, the thing that attracted their attention the absolute most was a painting hung right in the center of the wall, squarely facing the main doors.

On the canvas, a painter possessing astoundingly heavenly skill utilized vivid and delicate strokes to recreate a scene from the depths of her mind one stroke, one dot at a time. The scene depicted the dim moonlight, and amid the shower of that moonlight appeared the sleeping face of a slumbering, handsome man.

That man was bare-chested and handsome, his face even carrying a kind of amiability that perhaps even he himself hadn't realized, appearing as serene as if immersed in a lullaby.

And what was most striking was that the bare-chested, black-haired man's hand firmly grasped what seemed to be a fair palm belonging to the recorder of the scene. It was as if he couldn't bear for the owner of that palm to leave, intending to interlock his fingers with her ten slender fingers, intending to seize hold of the very existence of the person painting the picture...

The moment he saw that painting, Fisher was entirely dumbstruck, because the person depicted in that painting was none other than himself!

And the two people following Fisher inside, Eliog and Jasmine, were also completely dumbstruck. They hadn't anticipated at all that having only just entered here, it was as if an invisible existence had punched their faces—it was simply like taking an ultimate skill point-blank in the face...

"Pfft, I didn't expect Baimon actually had such a hobby of chronicling her lover..."

Cidi smiled and covered his mouth, providing such a commentary. However, upon hearing his words, the expressions of Eliog and Jasmine also grew increasingly dark, simultaneously making the figure of Fisher standing at the very front appear increasingly tenuous, as if he was about to be blown away by the wind.

A serenely sleeping man tightly clutching the hand of the one painting, as if afraid she would leave...

How... how could such a state of reliance upon that Baimon suddenly manifest?!

"Fisher..."

"Professor Fisher..."

Behind him, Eliog's sluggish, seemingly careless voice and Jasmine's grimly cold voice rang out simultaneously, causing the body of Fisher looking ahead to tremble slightly.

He drew a deep breath, currently making preparations to turn around and face the storm, planning to have them calm down and find that Base before anything else.

But right in the process of him turning his head, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the tall and skinny Lord of Souls squatting on the ground beside him. In his hands, he held a few drawings resting on an easel leaning against the wall, it was just that these artworks were smaller than that large "Sleeping Fisher Portrait" placed dead center in the hall.

He muttered a sentence, subconsciously saying to the people behind him,

"There seem... to be more here."

All the words Fisher was about to say were stuffed right back down into his throat. Eliog and Jasmine also looked towards that side. The sluggish expression on Eliog's face had already faded somewhat, yet maintaining her hands crossed, she stood in place without moving. It was Jasmine who preemptively lost her composure and walked over there, snatching the drawings handed over by the Lord of Souls and looking through them one by one.

"Just what are all these...? Professor Fisher changing clothes? And what are you grasping your chest for? Why did you use such a gentle gaze to l-look... at that Baimon?!"

As she looked through drawing after drawing, Jasmine was evidently starting to get furious. And the innocent-looking Lord of Souls beside her even saw while Jasmine picked up the paintings that the backs of those drawings seemed to additionally have titles and annotations.

"Eh, on the back of those drawings..."

Jasmine froze slightly, then proceeded to flip these drawings over to read the titles and annotations left behind by that Baimon.

"'[He and the Clothes in the Sanctuary], having his clothes ruined by Angel Michael's toy for the very first time, he probably didn't expect me to be secretly peeking at him when he went to change... truly cute.'

"'[Struck by Cupid's Arrow], eh, managing to get shot by my arrow while keeping perfectly quiet. Even though he was furious, he didn't dare act up due to his worry for my injuries, and he even had to ask how I was doing. He didn't even know he was being teased.'

"'[The Concern Hidden Behind His Back], it seems like he started growing doubtful after falling in love with me... Why hasn't he heard of my name in the future? He must have been very worried in his heart that I would die and he won't be able to see me in the future? Truly leaving a profound impression on me...'

"P-Professor Fisher, you... you..."

Over a few drawings, the sweetness they once shared, the shining qualities visible from a female perspective that even Fisher himself hadn't realized, were all preserved in the form of artworks and placed here.

If both parties in love or an uninvolved third party were to look at them, they would be moved by them. Even Cidi standing behind him involuntarily revealed a motherly smile.

But what if the ones seeing these things were other women romantically involved with the male protagonist within?

Jasmine stared in disbelief at Fisher behind her, and Eliog even directly bypassed Fisher. Uttering not a single word, she suddenly walked towards the wall of the hall, snatched off that massive "Fisher's Sleeping Face" portrait in one motion, and then began reading the title and annotation on the back of the drawing amidst Fisher's slightly shriveling shocked expression.

However, under that title, they saw two lines of annotations. It was just that the very original line of annotation had already been mercilessly erased, leaving behind only the traces from the paper being shaved off.

Only underneath that was the annotation they could currently see, on which it was written,

[Fisher]

On a night where they possessed each other, what he held onto was the woman he loved the most, and the woman who loved him the most.

"Rip!"

Eliog remained expressionless, but the hand pinching that canvas suddenly exerted force, instantly crumpling that white paper into numerous creases.

Pinching the exquisitely drawn painting in her hand, Eliog smacked her lips with an extremely displeased expression. Because even from her perspective, Baimon was indeed worthy of being a master who grasped the world's art and arcane knowledge. She could effortlessly render the scene incomparably exquisite, simply as lifelike as if it were a reproduction of the actual scene.

It was as if unprovoked flames began to spread bit by bit from her fingertips. In the blink of an eye, they were about to spread all the way up from where she contacted the painting to burn it completely. However, out of the corner of her eye, Eliog still saw Fisher, who was currently looking down at those paintings, and seemingly also saw his slightly touched heart...

"Tch..."

Those flames suddenly came to an abrupt end, slowly retracting back into her body, sparing this painting—that could be called a work of art—from disaster.

She still remembered being exceedingly certain when speaking to Fisher previously: that Baimon must have approached Fisher out of some special motive, that she would only place the "Favored One's Sigil"—which was extremely precious to demons—upon him, and even went as far as to erase and overwrite her own sigil.

Although even now Eliog still felt this way, looking at these detailed drawings depicting scene after scene right before her eyes, Eliog was temporarily unable to speak up and reiterate this view.

Conversely, Eimhart, who was in Fisher's chest, merely took one glance before hiding back into Fisher's chest as if he was unable to bear looking at it. Acting without thinking, he said,

"This is definitely Baimon's evil scheme! She arranged this in advance; you absolutely must not fall for it!"

"..."

Fisher patted the startled Eimhart. He only looked at the drawings beside him, and even at the many drawings Jasmine hadn't picked up that were laid out on the floor. Every single painting among them appeared so detailed, evidently having undergone the meticulous carving of the painter.

He picked one of them up, took a look, and suddenly spoke up,

"These are all scenes from when I first met her in the past..."

"...Heh, truly unlike her, awooo."

Eliog casually tossed that massive painting back to its original spot. Perhaps she had originally wanted to reiterate the same viewpoint as Eimhart. After all, from her perspective, it was highly likely that Baimon had designed all of this in advance so that they, who came here, would see this scene.

Not only could it let Fisher see their past experiences, but it could also enrage the other women standing beside him. Why not do it?

But thinking about it carefully, Eliog didn't speak up, because she suddenly discovered a contradiction within it. It was as if she suddenly wasn't certain of Baimon's true thoughts and disposition either.

If Baimon had merely designed this, and everything was just as Eimhart said, then she wouldn't need to care at all about all these things she painted; everything was fake anyway.

But when Eliog saw her recording with delicate strokes what didn't seem like her usual mindset—narrating her teasing of Fisher, narrating Fisher's concern for her—that love spanning ten thousand years like a steadily flowing stream became stuck in Eliog's throat like a fishbone.

If all this laid out by Baimon wasn't a design but sincere, and she truly reminisced immensely over these ten thousand years about a lover who only existed in the future, then this instead made it even more unacceptable for Eliog.

It was as if she was proving that erasing Eliog's sigil and dyeing it with her own was perfectly as it should be, proving she had even more reason to possess Fisher.

Adding the two together, it didn't seem right no matter how she thought about it, and it only made Eliog increasingly displeased.

Sensing Eliog—who had been continuously displeased before him, practically on the verge of bristling and hissing—Fisher had no choice but to quickly change the topic. He turned to look at Jasmine and cut to the chase,

"Regardless of whether Helaire let me see this on purpose or if it was already like this, our current top priority is to find the Base. Jasmine, can you still sense the Base's specific location?"

Behind him, Jasmine was still puffing her cheeks while picking up the drawings on the ground, exuding quite a "I'm going to take these pieces of evidence back to show Raphaela" vibe. It wasn't until Fisher turned his head that she finally paused her actions. Pouting her lips, she said,

"I'll give it a try. I can feel it's very close to here..."

"Mm."

Originally, when she saw Fisher getting angry at discovering that Baimon was deceiving him earlier, Jasmine still felt a tiny bit of secret joy in her heart. But now, upon seeing so many sweet memories, Jasmine's heart rose into her throat again, making her feel displeased even looking at the "evidence" she gathered in her hands.

Initially, she didn't feel much towards this "Baimon" she had never met, especially since she had only just eaten Professor Fisher. Now, having experienced these things, much like Eliog, she also harbored wariness and dissatisfaction towards Baimon, just like how she treated Elizabeth...

Mm, as for Eliog, seeing as she didn't harbor much hostility towards her, she'd temporarily cooperate with her for now.

Jasmine began searching for the location of the Base. Eliog, contrarily, was surprisingly quiet. She merely re-hung the painting, whose corners she had crumpled slightly, back onto the wall, then stood by the door with her arms crossed, similarly awaiting Jasmine's actions.

Fisher swept his gaze over the paintings on the wall once more, chewing over the words Helaire left behind the paintings in his mind. At the same time, he also saw the spiral staircase beside the paintings leading to the second floor of the palace.

"..."

Eimhart in his embrace was already very uneasy to begin with. After pondering for a moment, Fisher still took him out of his embrace and told him to wait here for a bit; he was going up to take another look.

The Eimhart being left behind originally wanted to advise him to be careful, but Fisher had already stepped onto the stairs, walking towards the even more gloomy second floor.

The second floor precisely aligned with the image of wisdom that Baimon had passed down over thousands of years; a great multitude of bookshelves were placed there. Fisher stood in place and sized up his surroundings for quite a while before walking step-by-step through the bookshelves towards the end of the second floor. The lighting from the first floor transmitting here had also become increasingly dim. He could only vaguely see that at the end of the bookshelves lay a desk covered entirely in dust, looking as if it hadn't been used by anyone for a very long time.

Behind the desk was the image of the Demon God "Baimon" circulated by the world.

It was a back view filled with shadows. On her back grew wings akin to an angel's, and she possessed a holy, flawlessly perfect appearance, hence being referred to by humanity as the "King of Dominions."

She wore a crown brimming with gemstones, riding on the back of a dromedary camel capable of human speech. It was as if she was perpetually on a journey, constantly walking across a desolate desert.

Fisher looked up at this back view that didn't record her true appearance. He suddenly reached out his hand, lifted this painting, and looked at its back—Helaire had a habit of leaving the artwork's title and annotations behind her works, and this painting was no exception.

Written on it could be seen:

[Me]

"I seem to be tirelessly searching for the path leading to the 'future,' awaiting that person from the future to come welcome me."

Only then did Fisher realize that the image of "Baimon" widely circulated among the people of the world was actually closely related to himself.

Of course he remembered that the crown on her head was formed by him clumsily placing gemstones into it one by one; of course he also remembered that the female camel she rode beneath her was picked up for him at the snake-human tribe favored by Sorobato.

He looked at this painting above, then turned his head back around and sat before the desk Baimon used to sit at. He quietly looked at the gloomy library before him, just sitting there quietly like this, not knowing what he was thinking about.

It wasn't until his face and body began to squirm, as if some pitch-black fluid was moving within his body, that he heard a tender voice,

"Fisher, you seem to be thinking?"

"Yes, Cupid."

"What are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking about the true owner of your name."

"...So the name Cupid has an owner?"

"Sorry."

"It's okay, can I continue using it?"

Fisher remained non-committal, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. He merely leaned back lightly in her chair and suddenly asked this glob of black mud,

"I suddenly feel like I can't see someone clearly anymore. I don't know if everything about her is true or false, I don't know the reason she approached me... all those doubts from before could be interpreted with 'belief', but now I don't know if I can entrust that same belief to her anymore."

"Then do you understand her a little better now?"

Fisher leaned back in the chair, suddenly recalling again the words behind that massive painting from earlier. She said,

"On a night where they possessed each other, what he held onto was the woman he loved the most, and the woman who loved him the most."

Fisher rubbed his temples. Right before this final period of time while Jasmine searched for the Base, under the gaze of Baimon's shadow-filled back view behind him, he muttered a sentence,

"...I don't know either."

"..."

The black mud didn't speak again, merely quietly accompanying him, just like how it said it "loved him" previously.

On the first floor, as Fisher headed to the second floor alone, Jasmine began searching for the specific location of the Base. Eliog, however, still stood before the wide-open doors of Baimon's palace with her arms crossed. Her expression was no longer sluggish, yet it was also unknown what exactly she was pondering over.

"What's wrong, why is your expression suddenly so awful?"

And right at this moment, Cidi's voice suddenly rang out from behind her, interrupting Eliog's train of thought. She unhappily turned her head to look, only to see Cidi—whose fingertips were constantly twirling his long red hair—looking at her with a smiling expression.

"What?"

Cidi scanned her up and down before saying somewhat gloatingly, "...I can tell your 'sleep therapy' is still quite effective. To think you haven't even exploded after having your Favored One snatched away by Baimon, is it because your true body hasn't been unsealed yet?"

"Spit it out if you have something to say, fart it out if you have to fart."

Eliog yawned, the tail behind her wagging, and said this.

But Cidi didn't mind Eliog's words in the slightest. They had known each other for god knows how long; naturally, they wouldn't appear estranged over such superficial trash talk.

"Your Barbatos is still running around for you up above, yet you can actually stay here with peace of mind doing absolutely nothing, awooo? You don't seem like that kind of person."

"Ever since Barbatos and I got together up until being sealed by that False God, we've rarely seen each other too, mainly because you basically sleep all day. Isn't it normal for me to have some changes? I don't have any dissatisfaction with the current situation. What's more, entrusted by that friend related to Fisher, he can also be considered my junior. Helping either side would put me in a difficult position, so I might as well just do nothing at all."

"That friend... who exactly is it referring to?"

The smile on Cidi's face grew increasingly unbridled. He raised his finger and chuckled,

"Is it because she has a relationship with Fisher that you're curious?"

"None of your business."

Eliog shot Cidi a glance like a cat with bristled fur. And Cidi no longer spoke against her words, instead honestly admitting,

"The fellow who played matchmaker for Barbatos and me. But Barbatos doesn't know her. Me being so free and easy now has a lot to do with her as well... mm, I must say, breaking free from that [Fundamental Nature] really feels satisfying."

"Satisfying, is it..."

Eliog narrowed her eyes. Before she could experience the sense of relaxation spilling from Cidi's words, Cidi tapped his chin and continued,

"My matters are actually secondary. The key issue lies with you, Eliog."

"Me?" Eliog looked at him and yawned again. "What about me?"

"What about you? Weren't you very displeased with that Baimon when you just came in? What's on that Fisher's body is Baimon's Favored One's Sigil, not yours."

"What, do you want me to walk my [Old Path]?"

"This isn't a question of Old Paths, Eliog..."

Cidi also leaned against the wall. Looking at the tides obscured by the ∞ symbol outside, his gaze also gradually emptied as he immediately said,

"Barbatos and Agreas might have been utilized by Baimon's trickery; I believe you can also see this point. You and Fisher are also currently striving to shatter this trickery. But have you ever considered what happens after this matter?"

"..."

Eliog kept her mouth shut, yet Cidi continued to speak,

"Barbatos and Agreas still remain within the seal. That False God's seal is both a curse and a blessing to us. You understand, us walking freely driven by our fundamental nature will only bring pain to ourselves and others... You are also one of us. So, after this matter, what about you?

"Will you also return to your own seal after completing this matter just like in the past? Or do you want Fisher to solely release you using the Base? I think, even if you were to be released, you wouldn't be willing to accept it, right? Otherwise, why did you sleep in your lair for these several thousand years?"

Eliog had become entirely expressionless, yet she didn't refute Cidi's words. She merely crossed her arms and asked,

"What exactly do you want to say?"

"I wanted to say that perhaps deep down you have already overcome your fundamental nature. You... conceded defeat to Baimon."

Cidi began to smile, hanging his head down and concealing his face in the shadows, leaving only that pink mist circulating within. It looked like two pink stars revolving in the darkness, extremely terrifying.

"You cannot leave this place by breaking your true body out of the seal, and you yourself don't wish to leave either. You're afraid of walking the previous 'Old Path,' so you headed towards its opposite extreme. I know what you're thinking. Baimon can walk freely outside, and even shares such a deep connection with Fisher, so compared to you, she is indeed more suitable to become Fisher's Favored One. Therefore, you silently accepted it in your heart, accepted the fact that she erased your sigil..."

Eliog still remained silent, merely looking at the scorching heat outside the palace, evidently tacitly agreeing with Cidi's statement. Even until he finished saying everything, her expression still hadn't changed in the slightest.

And Cidi also turned his head to look at her at this time. After pausing for a moment, he couldn't help but ask doubtfully,

"Is this really what you want, Eliog?"

"..." Eliog looked at the flames outside and shook her head, saying, "Merely an ephemeral romance of one night. This level of unwillingness, even if I let go, it's..."

"Do you believe the way to avoid the old path is to walk towards its opposite extreme?"

Eliog's words were interrupted by the smiling Cidi beside her. She froze slightly, turning her head to see Cidi raise a single finger. Subsequently, he suddenly blinked and said,

"I frequently have demands in that aspect towards Barbatos. His fondness for showing off to gain praise also stems from hoping to obtain my satisfaction. Me no longer meeting outsiders, and Barbatos no longer clinging to his virtuous reputation in the Mortal World, doesn't mean we completely discarded the original us. The more you feign generosity now, the more it will instead drive you onto the old path...

"It's just that you lack experience in this regard, and don't know that the choice you're making now is completely useless. Do you want to try confessing to him before everything arrives? Or is it that you want to go against your fundamental nature like this, handing over everything by conceding defeat to Baimon?"

Eliog's expression was somewhat hesitant, seemingly undergoing some struggle in her heart. It wasn't until the Cidi beside her left the wall he leaned against and walked towards the depths of Baimon's palace, finally waving his hand and muttering,

"Don't forget what the next sentence after 'Defeat the undefeated' is~"

"'The defeated... shall be undefeated'..."

Eliog muttered a sentence. A terrifying flame gradually lit up within her eyes that were coiled like fire snakes. However, the tail behind her still swayed slightly following her hesitation, carrying an ambiguous implication.

It was just that amidst this quiet contemplation, all the sounds around her seemed to be enveloped by the quietude within her skull, turning silent and still.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

It wasn't until a very, very long time later that powerful heartbeat sounds exploded from the depths of her mind one after another.

The initially faint smell of saltpeter in her nasal cavity suddenly became viscous, as if tainted by the smell of iron rust. It was about to pour in through her seven orifices, so dense it was about to erase everything.

Arriving along with the sound of that heartbeat was a past that seemed like an auditory hallucination to her.

She heard the booming of snapping blades and swords, heard the whistling of armored horses and iron weaponry, heard the trembling wails of countless races.

Felt their fear, felt the intoxicating sensation of defeating them.

The Eliog of that time couldn't see anything, merely hearing their pleas and wails amidst the smell of saltpeter and blood.

They knelt and worshipped towards the pillar of fire shooting into the sky; they extolled the name of this Demon God.

Until this fear and trembling was passed down generation after generation along their bloodlines, ultimately being washed by the years until it landed upon the tip of a pen, becoming two short lines of text:

"Eliog"

"Duke, First Pillar corresponding to the Gate of Victory"

"Greedy and manic, enjoys violence, fond of war, calls for destruction"

On the second floor of Helaire's residence, at the end of the library filled with bookshelves, Fisher leaned back in the soft leather chair that perhaps Helaire had once sat in. His spine rested against the cushion behind him, his head tilted slightly upwards naturally, gazing at the ceiling that appeared somewhat pitch-black because the light from the first floor didn't extend upwards.

On the desktop that Helaire had once used to read books, which was now completely empty save for an Everburning Candle, the Soul Completion Handbook was laid open, falling to the final section where the front was thick and the back was thin. This meant he was about to finish reading all the contents Caleb Uz had left behind.

It was just that at this moment, the words on the pages seemed to have grown legs, refusing to enter his eyes no matter what. Or perhaps he wasn't reading at all, but rather staring at the pages, thinking about other things...

Yes, he was examining his relationship with Helaire.

Perhaps he himself was also well aware that he indeed harbored feelings for Helaire. It was simply because he knew too little about her, unlike having a thorough understanding of the other ladies, which consequently brought about suspicion and unease.

Even regarding the Infinity Authority itself, the reincarnation of the Mother Goddess, Renee, Fisher roughly understood her situation and clear about her personality, having spent a long time together and having truly confided in each other.

Yet Helaire was the sole exception. Having seemingly experienced so much, Fisher still couldn't see her clearly or grasp her, as if she was very, very close to him, yet he could never touch her.

He didn't know why she would fall for him, yet everything he saw upon arriving here was her longing, of which he couldn't tell whether it was genuine or fake.

This contradiction made Fisher somewhat conflicted, ultimately erupting due to the deception discovered earlier.

"Tap tap... tap..."

And right at this moment, the sound of footsteps rang out one after another from the stairs Fisher had climbed to get here. In this silent place, it appeared somewhat abrupt, prompting Fisher to immediately open his eyes and look towards the end of the library. The black mud of the soul extending from his hands also slowly retracted back into his body.

He looked at the stairs and quickly caught sight of Eliog walking up from below. She also rapidly sized up the bookshelves hidden in the darkness all around, subsequently fixing her gaze upon Fisher sitting beneath the portrait of "Baimon"'s back.

She pursed her lips, seemingly wanting to say something immediately, but ultimately it turned into a yawn. After her "awoo" sounded, she neither commented on the decoration of Helaire's second floor nor mentioned the name "Baimon," merely asking Fisher,

"What are you doing here, awooo? It's pitch-black..."

Fisher blinked, rubbed his temples, and hastily closed the Soul Completion Handbook. He sat up and said to Eliog,

"Just thinking about some things."

In the darkness, Eliog's pupils, as bright as fire snakes, slightly twisted in her eyes. Only then did she sweep a glance at Helaire's back portrait behind him and ask,

"Thinking about Baimon's matters?"

"Nothing of the sort..."

Fisher subconsciously said so. The natural instinct of a scumbag would obviously prevent him from mentioning another woman in front of a different woman. But after saying it, realizing after the fact that it was a lie, his facial expression underwent some changes...

He was indeed thinking about Helaire just now.

With her arms crossed, Eliog merely looked at Fisher before her without speaking further. Between raising his eyes, upon seeing the gaze with which she looked at him, Fisher naturally knew his words had already been seen through by her. He could only smile helplessly,

"...I was indeed considering her matters."

"What else is there to consider, awooo? Shouldn't all those words she left downstairs just now suit your appetite very well? Although I do hold some prejudice against her due to a demon's disposition, even I have to confirm that those things she did could entirely be out of her true intentions..."

Eliog approached a bit closer. Her bare feet stepped nimbly on the carpet of Helaire's second floor, and thus, like a cat, she didn't make a single sound. Walking towards the desk Fisher was sitting at like this, she added, "But from the looks of it, you're still lost and conflicted."

"...I don't know either, but it shouldn't be considered lost and conflicted, right?"

"If you don't know, then you're lost and conflicted, Fisher."

Fisher opened his mouth, then stopped refuting. He merely leaned back against the soft backrest behind him once more. After a moment of silence, he still confessed to Eliog,

"...I just have some doubts, that's all."

"Doubts about what, awooo?"

Possessing completely zero grace, Eliog leapt up and sat on Helaire's desk. Since there was nothing on it besides a candle anyway.

Relying on that somewhat dim candlelight, Fisher effortlessly saw the fireball on her tail, which was even brighter on the tabletop. That fireball swayed back and forth in the darkness, presumably her tail causing mischief.

And Fisher still remained honest towards Eliog. He pondered for a moment before saying,

"Both you and Eimhart previously said that Helaire only noticed me and placed her sigil on me because she had a special motive regarding me. Although I verbally denied you guys earlier, in truth, from the bottom of my heart, I also truly cannot find a suitable reason to explain her special attention and feelings towards me... It's as if those feelings came out of nowhere, yet indeed possess a certain basis I am unaware of...

"And it's the same for you. I had only known you for a few days, and my tier was even merely slightly higher than a normal human's. I couldn't possibly think of a reason for you, a Demon God of the Eighteenth Tier, to give me your unprecedented first time...

"I have witnessed the mighty power of Mythical Species, and I know that you guys, who cross the long river of time, can easily accomplish things ordinary people cannot imagine. That's why I suspected that everything I experienced, the feelings I thought existed, might all be fabricated and disguised... Which subsequently resulted in a feeling of unease."

Eliog quietly listened to the entirety before smiling and saying,

"Color me a bit surprised, awooo. Firstly, you actually still perceive yourself as a human. Another point is, I always thought people like you only cared about possessing, thereby disregarding the reasons why..."

Simultaneously, following her amusement, her slender tail swept across Fisher's chest bit by bit. Fisher didn't reach out to grab it, merely letting his gaze sway bit by bit along with the fireball in the darkness. "I never expected that, despite originally looking like you'd take a hands-off approach, you actually always hid petty calculations in your heart, awooo. Is this the feigned strength of a male?"

That tiny, somewhat affected yet genuinely existing doubt that finally managed to slip out from his heart was caught by Eliog. But since it had already been spoken, there was no longer any opportunity to retract it. He merely smiled helplessly and continued asking,

"Is there something wrong with me still believing I am a human?"

"No, there's nothing wrong, it's actually a good thing instead."

Eliog retracted her tail, saying, "Those who cross tiers post-birth, especially humans like you who rely on Completion Handbooks to twist rules, find it very easy to forget their original intentions. Once one forgets where they came from, where they are heading will also become immeasurably perplexing. Thus, those possessing Handbooks are generally downright madmen, a scourge. Since my birth, I have seen too many, and killed too many..."

Fisher swallowed a gulp of saliva, suddenly recalling the scenario of encountering Eliog for the very first time in Old Jack's tavern. That hair-raising, terrifying shudder wasn't an illusion, but Eliog's genuine killing intent.

"As for your other question... what Baimon is thinking, and why she treated you this way, I have absolutely no idea, because essentially she isn't a demon. Although I view her act of affixing a sigil on you as snatching from a brethren, this is merely a part of the Dynasty's long-standing culture... As an angel, whether she was infected by our culture remains unknown... However Fisher, regarding the reason I gave my first time to you, I can tell you right now."

Fisher froze slightly, raising his head to look at Eliog sitting on the desk slightly higher than him. Watching her sluggishness once again recede bit by bit, leaving only her originally heroic and valiant face looking at him earnestly, seemingly waiting for his answer.

Although the time spent with Eliog was very short, her sluggish, cat-like disposition still left a very deep impression on Fisher. So when her expression was exceptionally earnest at this moment, Fisher反而 (instead) found it somewhat unaccustomed. He even subconsciously straightened his sitting posture a bit and asked,

"...When I asked you previously, weren't you still unwilling to speak?"

Eliog tapped her cheek, pouted, and said,

"If you were to take the same question to ask Baimon personally, she would definitely tell you the reason. But as for whether it's genuine... heh heh, nobody can guarantee that. Previously, I was indeed unwilling to tell you directly, because I had some considerations I didn't want to tell you about, and I didn't want to deceive you either... But I've thought it through now, I'll tell you everything about myself."

"Could it be that something I did during this period altered your thoughts?"

"No, it's just that according to my original plan, I believed not telling you was far better than telling you, that's all..."

"I thought it was because of Helaire."

"..." Eliog blinked, then added another sentence, "Awooo, it's partly because of her too. Seeing her holding dominion over me genuinely feels extremely displeasing."

"..."

And after that, Eliog didn't yawn again, merely contemplating for a long time and hesitating for a long time. Then, a question serving as the opening to her explanation was first tossed out. She asked Fisher,

"Fisher, do you know why I love sleeping so much?"

"...Because it's your nature?"

Like a kitten that can never sleep enough.

Eliog shook her tail and her head, merely denying it,

"This is not my fundamental nature, Fisher. Quite the contrary, my choice to sleep is actually a result of a post-birth choice...

"In reality, me, Cidi, and every single demon aside from Baimon don't have any fundamental differences. He has his fundamental nature, and I have mine. He requires carnal desires to feed, while what I require is 'conflict.' Conflicts generated by myself or others both suffice. My power subtly causes surrounding existences to fall into unavoidable competition. Regarding this point, not even my compatriots are spared. I can, and only can, draw an endless stream of power and 'food' (Fallen Self-Nature) from it...

"Therefore, even when I slumber, as long as someone prays to me, even without my response, they will be influenced by my power and massacre one another. Not to mention when my true body appears... Very, very long ago, the rudimentary form of my Authority had already sprouted within my body, only a single step away from the Nineteenth-Tier. I know very well that all I need is a massive-scale war, and I can take this step... But I abhor this. I abhor my fundamental nature, abhor this endless conflict caused by me.

"Call me hypocritical, or call it an excuse. But like Cidi, I indeed detest this instinct that is as simple as eating and drinking to you humans."

Eliog looked expressionlessly at Fisher before her, calmly stating,

"At the very beginning of my birth, I hadn't realized this point yet, instead tirelessly satisfying my fundamental nature like an insatiable greed. To this end, I fought powerhouses everywhere, and fought the weak. I could go all out to defeat Elves and Angels, and I could also use weapons to defeat humans far inferior to me using skill. Back then, day and night, I immersed myself in the pleasure of defeating others, enjoying the humbleness of those far beneath me, washing my victories with the fresh blood of their defeats..."

Her words echoed in the quiet library, seemingly polishing those dust-laden armors and weapons placed in her fortress brightly in this moment.

"Until I sank deeper and deeper into victory, my strength also grew increasingly powerful. While I enjoyed everything in the world passing down my revered name, admitting the joy of being inferior to me... I suddenly discovered that my fundamental nature was twisting everything else I originally paid no mind to..."

Eliog closed her eyes. Her words reaching this point, Fisher could feel a hint of indescribable remorse in her voice.

"Under the influence of my fundamental nature, everything around me was undergoing a change. Yet I back then still hadn't realized this wasn't what I wanted... until my servants killed all the other servants to prove their excellence; until those believers of mine, in order to prove whose sacrifice was the most excellent, slaughtered their wives, children, and parents to place on the sacrificial altar; until men and women didn't hesitate to mutilate their bodies for courtship, proving they were more excellent than the competitor by carving their flesh. Only then did I realize the discomfort.

"When I saw all this, my heart immediately told me that this absolute competition devoid of any bottom line was not what I wanted. But my body, because of drawing upon this endless stream of Fallen Self-Nature, felt an inescapable pleasure. My body demanded more from me, yearning for me to follow my fundamental nature and bring conflict to more innocent living beings..."

The revered name of Demon God Eliog had once resounded throughout the entire world in the past, especially in an era where past myths hadn't perished and the world hadn't ceased its turbulence. Such a combat-capable and belligerent existence was bound to have numerous followers and countless enemies.

But starting from when she herself realized the evil consequences brought by her fundamental nature, that Demon God dominating war and warrior consciousness vanished. Replacing her was a cat-like female demon who remained unknown to the public throughout the long years, knowing only how to sleep.

Perhaps even now to this day, she was still contending against it, merely because she had already grown accustomed to doing so, thereby preventing outsiders from sensing her bloody and combative fundamental nature.

"I harbor an innate Repulsion towards external objects, to the extent of causing external objects to disintegrate on their own. This is the true source of me causing conflicts. And when I realized this point, I commenced an unceasing, sleepless struggle against it... I attempted countless ineffective methods, ultimately only able to entrust my consciousness to slumber, utilizing unconscious sleep to combat my fundamental nature and its influence.

"That being the case, as long as no one approached, there would no longer be any conflicts arising because of me. Even when the Mythical Wars ignited all around, even when the Mother Goddess grew enraged and locked our entire race underground, I hadn't shown my face again... Even when I was sealed, I felt a stroke of luck, because being passively sealed could still provide a guarantee for my not-too-firm willpower...

"But fundamental nature is fundamental nature. I can endure, yet I must unavoidably overcome the pain. That sort of pain is indescribable, it's difficult to suppress. No matter how many times I endures, that spark of conflict will still burst forth within my heart, intending to burn me down completely. Therefore, back then when Agreas came seeking my help, only then did I accept this mission, using my soul to leave the Abyss and hunt down that human possessing a Completion Handbook on the outside. My goal was precisely to alleviate the hunger I had endured for so long inside my body with nowhere to alleviate it..."

Fisher swallowed a gulp of saliva. He suddenly recalled the records and summoning methods regarding Eliog on King Solomon's scroll from earlier, finally understanding the true meaning behind the words "Summons without response." He couldn't help but question,

"Back then in Saint-Nazareth, did you also influence the people with your instinct? Why didn't I feel it at all?"

Eliog smiled faintly and said,

"No, because I had already eaten and drunk my fill back then. Don't forget, when I left the Southern Continent at that time, humanity and the living beings of other races there were engaging in a war over their homeland. The awakened me drew sufficient food from there. Although it also in a certain sense accelerated the progress and intensity of the war there, when I arrived in Saint-Nazareth and officially commenced Agreas's mission, I had already begun my second cycle of overcoming my fundamental nature once again...

"Fisher, you must know, the process of overcoming instinct is a warrior's cycle of agony... This is even more so for me. I can't see the end; I can only struggle amidst enduring time after time, indulging time after time, and the relief following indulgence time after time... Of course, the matters in Saint-Nazareth have nothing to do with me... Aside from the factor of my endurance, another reason was... I ran into you in Serpent's Head Street back then."

Her blazing eyes swept through the darkness, looking straight at Fisher before the desk, causing him to involuntarily mutter,

"Me?"

"Ah, you. Fisher, do you know why Cidi fell so deeply in love with Barbatos, awooo?"

Eliog's gaze emptied as she looked downstairs. It was as if the temperature dropped bit by bit. Answering her own question, she explained,

"Because after meeting Barbatos, Cidi's uncontrollable instinct was finally restrained. He no longer had to draw upon food using such despicable methods, no longer struggling against his instinct... thereby obtaining freedom. This naturally can be interpreted using the so-called 'love,' but he's only at the Fifteenth Tier, the weakness of that instinct can of course be overcome in this manner. But I held no hope for myself, because my instinct was so strong, I believed there existed no existence capable of accommodating me...

"But you're different, Fisher. Upon knowing you possessed a Completion Handbook, upon knowing you used that chaotic power to lock onto my soul (the process of the Demi-Human Completion Handbook binding her), the fundamental nature within my body also gradually awakened step by step, subconsciously influencing the people around me, which was you. I didn't feel anything wrong back then. After all, initially I also believed that you and other people possessing Completion Handbooks were birds of a feather; I even intended to let you voluntarily trigger a conflict with it. Either way, you guys were intrinsically filled with Repulsion to begin with...

"However, I gradually discovered that you wouldn't be influenced by my fundamental nature, not even in the slightest. Furthermore, this Trait wasn't just directed at you; it caused me to completely not influence anyone because of my fundamental nature when I was beside you... You could completely accommodate me, mitigating the fundamental nature that caused me to trigger conflict while preventing me from feeling hungry. Even if I didn't receive a single drop of Fallen Self-Nature, I still wouldn't feel pain."

Fisher's pupils shrank bit by bit. Staring at Eliog sitting on the desktop looking at him, he then heard her next words,

"You are very special to me. Even just from the perspective of your very existence, it was the first time I understood this sort of joy. But the me back then didn't realize this was your special trait; I merely felt that staying by your side was very comfortable and cozy. At certain moments back then, I even thought about just staying by your side like this, throwing Agreas and the other matters to the back of my mind. It wasn't until that guy's (Erwind) flesh-and-blood Chaos creation ran to the entrance of your home that I realized you might fall into danger because of this. Therefore, I had no choice but to leave you...

"So, my decision back then might have been rash, but it wasn't casual, awooo. Say I have no feelings, or say I was utilitarian, but the me back then indeed handed over everything to you for the sake of that coziness and relaxation when I was by your side..."

It was like that back then. But perhaps prior to that, a cat also had to make sure it liked this person's scent first securely.

At this point, Eliog's expression also appeared somewhat embarrassed. Even in the darkness of the library, Fisher still clearly perceived the unnatural pink hue gradually rising on her wheat-colored face.

Following that, acting like a cat that had done something bad, she stole a glance at Fisher, then pouted and continued stubbornly,

"Is there anything wrong with paying attention to you because of these external reasons? Don't you try telling me that doing that sort of thing with me back then was because you understood my inner nature; wasn't it because my appearance also attracted you... Besides, I feel like the experience should be... should've been pretty good?"

Actually, Fisher wasn't thinking about this at all. Instead, he was thinking that it might be precisely because Eliog had absolutely no experience in this regard. If that were the case, if a bad Angel like Helaire acted with this goal in mind, she absolutely could formulate a thousand or ten thousand stratagems to assist her, thereby making Fisher completely devoted to her, confused and dazed... There would be no need to be like Eliog where Fisher says he wants it, and she foolishly gives it to him.

"For demons, the process of overcoming their fundamental nature is very difficult, right?"

Hearing this, Eliog froze slightly, subsequently nodding without avoiding the question,

"It indeed is, awooo... It's the most powerful, most invincible enemy I have encountered since birth. Facing any opponent, even those of a higher tier than me, I could formulate stratagems and methods. Yet towards it alone, I am truly at my wit's end; I can only hide and spend my time sleeping. I have no idea how Cidi managed to do it, but he and Barbatos are indeed the only two successful demons within the Dynasty..."

Cidi and Barbatos, huh...

Fisher vaguely felt that their ability to overcome their demon fundamental nature might be related to the Demi-Human Girl Con; otherwise he wouldn't have helped Fisher like this, choosing neutrality instead of standing on Barbatos's side.

"Cidi's and Barbatos's experiences cannot be imitated, because their fundamental natures are entirely different from mine. Even the fundamental nature of the Demon Gods behind the same door might differ. Only when by your side did I feel a hint of hope. I began to feel 'living like this isn't bad either': you rush about outside, and I sleep waiting for you at home..."

Fisher was also a bit caught between laughter and tears hearing this. Recalling the days in Saint-Nazareth back then, this was entirely equal to raising a super-sized fat cat at home that ate a lot, didn't do any work, and only slept... Anyone would feel quite comfortable with this, wouldn't they?

"Listening to this... you indeed were quite comfortable..."

As Eliog spoke, she also began to feel embarrassed. She rubbed her head, her face beginning to turn red again,

"Can't I even think about it, awooo? Besides, even if you want me to do something, I can learn, as long as it isn't like the past... Moreover, at the time I also genuinely felt that having a Little Demon with you wouldn't be bad either... I'm not talking about those brainless Little Demons without consciousness outside. I mean, a child between you and me wouldn't be bad either."

Fisher opened his mouth, raising his head to lock eyes with Eliog sitting on the desk, separated from him by mere inches.

Beneath the gaze of Helaire's painting behind him, amidst the slight outline of the scent of saltpeter, Fisher involuntarily swallowed a gulp of saliva.

The tail behind Eliog swayed. The atmosphere suddenly plunged into silence, merely that their distance closed in somewhat formlessly as their eyes met.

However, when Fisher's hand, originally placed on the desk, rested gently on her thigh, Eliog suddenly trembled, seemingly startled. She hastily retreated a short distance with a slightly reddened face. Reaching to scratch her cheek, she forced a smile and said,

"...But I'm only a soul now, and my true body is also a Mythical Species. It's impossible to produce offspring, you should know this point?"

"...I know."

Fisher said so, but his hand still didn't leave her thigh. He looked at his own hand and suddenly asked,

"It's just that I'm somewhat curious. Why do I possess the ability to halt your fundamental nature? Could it originate from the Completion Handbook? Or is it that I inherently possess some sort of special property... More than one person has said this about me previously; I can even read more than one Completion Handbook..."

"Who knows? But for demons, that person who can resolve their fundamental nature's existence might only be special to them... Just like Cidi and Barbatos. None of us expected back then that those two existences whose fundamental natures were completely unrelated could actually alleviate each other's fundamental nature. This sort of thing can be found by chance but not sought; your appearance back then indeed felt like a godsend opportunity to me..."

Eliog sized up Fisher before her. Seemingly failing to discover anything special about him, she shook her head and said,

"It's just that the me back then wasn't certain yet if this was a trick of destiny. Because you just had to appear precisely while I was sealed. What's more, our compatibility was so flawless, yet I had to face the reality of having to return to my seal and that you didn't actually belong to me... Or perhaps because of suppressing my fundamental nature for so long, even when Baimon appeared, the moment I saw everything she left behind, I actually thought... perhaps you being with that free, unsealed fellow might also be a correct choice... At least she should be like me, uncaring about the other ladies by your side, or even better than me... she might probably not care about me either?

"But my fundamental nature told me, I don't want to do this. I don't want to concede defeat like this..."

The light in Eliog's eyes remained, but the fiery passion contained within wasn't restricted merely to her eyes anymore; it was as if she intended to ignite the surrounding environment as well.

She exhaled a breath of scorching air, subsequently reaching out lightly to grab Fisher's collar, lowering her head and approaching him bit by bit until her hard horns touched Fisher's forehead, their noses touching as a result...

"...This time, even with you by my side, I don't wish to overcome my fundamental nature anymore."

"...This time, even with you by my side, I don't wish to overcome my fundamental nature anymore."

At this moment, the distance between them was mere inches. Eliog's seemingly burning eyes thus locked onto Fisher's gaze along this narrow space, leaving him nowhere to hide. It was precisely because they were so close that Fisher could see the blazing inferno in her eyes that was already extremely displeased to begin with.

It was just a pity that the portrait of Baimon behind Fisher at this moment was merely a view of her back, unable to witness Eliog's excessively invasive posture right now. Otherwise, who knows if seeing the two of them acting like this on her desk would anger her so much she'd jump right out of the painting.

However, Eliog didn't give Fisher another chance to speak. She merely leaned forward slightly on the desktop, shifting from her original sitting position on the desk to landing upon Fisher, causing that fiery hot scent of saltpeter to become even denser.

Fisher swallowed a gulp of saliva. The next moment, however, even his bobbing Adam's apple was gently caressed by Eliog. Simultaneously, she said,

"Even if Baimon isn't a pure demon herself and can walk freely upon the earth, even if Baimon knew you earlier than me in terms of time, I cannot accept her erasing the sigil I left on you and replacing it with hers... To me, this is a declaration of war. Even though I have grown accustomed to enduring for so long, I still cannot accept this point, awooo."

"Hold on, Eliog—"

"Creak... creak..."

Eliog could say whatever she wanted, but the key issue was that her weight was continuously suppressing him forward. Fisher thus leaned backwards bit by bit following her center of gravity, his mind also occupied by her words full of the scent of saltpeter. It wasn't until Helaire's chair beneath him groaned that he realized he was already tilting backwards.

He hastily stabilized his center of gravity with his feet, sensing that Eliog's intention to eat him up right now was truly far too obvious. He also increasingly felt the presence of Helaire's back portrait behind him, as well as the paintings she had created over ten thousand years downstairs, becoming pronounced. This made him feel like thorns were on his back, as if Helaire was staring at him dangerously.

Even though his current abilities definitely surpassed Eliog's, as a qualified bad man, he naturally wouldn't be so insensitive to romance as to directly slap the current Eliog onto the ground and roar, "Helaire is still watching us!"

He merely took a deep breath, subsequently speaking in a low voice,

"Hold on, Eliog... we're still in Helaire's home..."

Eliog directly opened her "bloody gaping mouth" that seemed to have magma burning and churning within her esophagus and stomach, subsequently biting down on his neck with a "smack." However, it didn't give Fisher much sensation, carrying quite a "loud thunder but little rain" flavor.

Because she had Fisher's muscle in her mouth, her speech was slurred at this moment. Even the candle-flame tail behind her swept back and forth, emitting a soft sound from her chest resembling bubbling magma,

"Gurgle~"

"...So what, awooo? It's better that it's precisely in her home, then my yielding the punishment opportunity to that foolish little Whale-kin girl previously wasn't in vain. Not only can this alleviate my displeasure, but it also allows me to seek thrills..."

"No, no..."

Fisher was somewhat caught between laughter and tears, yet he hastily said,

"Hold on, what's more, Jasmine is still looking for the Base downstairs... right now we still have to face Barbatos and Agreas. Let's calm down first at this critical juncture, we'll talk about this later..."

Although saying this indeed ruined Eliog's mood somewhat, this place wasn't just Helaire's residence; there wasn't even a place to rest. Furthermore, the library staircase connected straight to the living room below. In the event Jasmine found the Base and brought Eimhart, the Lord of Souls, and Cidi upstairs to find them, this would truly be a situation where describing it as social death wouldn't even suffice.

Eliog's movements paused slightly. Following that, her state of originally pressing against Fisher also involuntarily leaned back a certain distance. She merely looked at Fisher before her, but Fisher seemed to be able to tell from her swaying tail behind her that her mood right now was far from pleasant.

"A displeased cat..."

Fisher suddenly had this sort of déjà vu.

He smiled helplessly, yet suddenly thought of something he needed to ask Eliog, exactly trying to use words to divert her attention,

"By the way, you just said that when you stay by my side, you cannot feel the influence of your fundamental nature which triggers conflict?"

Eliog stared at Fisher's Adam's apple, much like a kitten turning into a glutton on the streets of Saint-Nazareth staring at dried fish hung outside to dry by some unknown household. After staring for several seconds, she nodded and said,

"That's right, awooo. Moreover, I've confirmed it; I'm sure it's not an illusion."

"...Speaking of which, a very long time ago, there was also an Elf who said I was very special."

"An Elf? Which one? I might know her..."

"Gui, have you heard of her?"

"That fellow... I've heard of her, but I've never actually seen her. Mm, to be precise, even among the Elves themselves, not many have seen her. She is the younger sister of Duke Tao. I am relatively familiar with Duke Tao, so I've also heard a little news about that fellow's sister..."

"I've also seen Duke Tao with my own eyes. Back then, her younger brother, namely Elf King Bing, was bewitched by a transferred person, and even had the Loom of Fate left to him by the World Tree stolen. Back then, she mistakenly thought I was also a transferred person, and even wanted to kill me... however, I don't know if you're clear on these matters. You demons hadn't been born at that time."

Eliog quietly listened to the end, only then sitting on his lap and rubbing her chin as she told him,

"I'm not too clear about Gui. Those matters you mentioned are also relatively distant to me... However, I am still quite familiar with Duke Tao. Due to the special nature of her own power, she has maintained her original appearance ever since that Elf King reincarnated. Meaning, she has never reincarnated. Moreover, just as you said, she killed a great many transferred persons..."

Subsequently, her action of groping her chin came to an abrupt end, the smile at the corners of her mouth growing increasingly intrigued.

"However, if you walk by the river often enough, how can your shoes not get wet? Even someone as powerful as her made a mistake. There was a transferred person who grew robustly under the protection of certain mysterious existences. Ultimately, not only did he successfully kill the World Tree, but he also caused her to be contaminated by chaotic power, turning into an undeniable monster."

"...Monster?"

Fisher frowned, hurriedly asking,

"What was going on with this?"

"It wasn't her fault either, awooo. Duke Tao is one of the few pretty decent guys among the Elves I know. She truly took the matters of her race to heart, and unlike the angels, she loved her mother very much. Therefore, when the World Tree was contaminated by that Chaos related to [Life], she made a decision we all found unexpected... She killed and captured that transferred person, attempting to read and comprehend the chaotic power on him in an attempt to understand Chaos, using a method of fighting poison with poison to save the World Tree..."

Fisher's pupils shrank slightly. Being someone possessing a Completion Handbook himself, he understood very clearly what Eliog meant.

It meant that back then, in order to save the World Tree, in order to understand Chaos and unravel its damage to the World Tree, Duke Tao actually chose to read a Completion Handbook?

"...And then?"

"Of course she failed. Otherwise, the World Tree might have lived a while longer. And from then on, she had always been the owner of that whatever Completion Handbook. That thing eroded her thoughts, making her become quite abnormal as well. I heard that back then, her younger sister Gui went back to help her stabilize her condition, up until the Mythical Wars several thousand years later..."

Speaking up to here, Eliog pinched Fisher's pectoral muscles, adding in passing,

"However, by the time of the Mythical Wars, I had already begun overcoming my fundamental nature for a long time, and I didn't participate in the war at all. I only knew a bit of third-party news. Because they lost the protection of the World Tree, and the Sanctuary frequently and proactively provoked wars, she, as the leader of the Elves back then, was under immense pressure... Although with the aid of that chaotic power of life and her originally extremely powerful tier, her strength at the time could even rival a Demigod. But the excessive utilization of chaotic power also made her already unstable mental state increasingly abnormal. She began to turn mad, continuously expanding the flames of war...

"Right, don't you know about that Solomon whose death was wrested away? Back then, his death was wrested away by Agreas to forge the original Death Rune. That Death Rune was precisely commissioned by others for Agreas to forge, purely to deal with the Duke Tao who had already turned into a Chaos monster back then. Heh heh, I heard back then she was so exaggeratedly powerful that she couldn't be killed even when bombarded by the power of the Chain of Heaven. She was a bona fide monster... just as hard to kill as that enemy of yours previously."

This was the first time Fisher had heard of the secret machinations back then. This kindled his curiosity, making him involuntarily ask next,

"Who do 'the others' refer to?"

"Unclear, Agreas never said. But it's said to be a guest from the Spirit World."

Fisher's mind naturally still harbored a bit of doubt. For instance, the main battlefield of the war Duke Tao participated in back then should have been their homeland, the Tree Continent. Otherwise, she wouldn't have sunk the entire continent. Logically speaking, it should have been completely unrelated to the demons over here who hid subterraneally in the Southern Continent and operated in the West Continent. Agreas shouldn't have any reason to meddle in this matter...

But very quickly, a clue he knew previously flashed into his mind.

He still remembered that Erwind entering the Demon Dynasty back then was precisely to search for clues related to Treasures, and why he ultimately managed to obtain his answer from Agreas.

Logically speaking, how could a Demon God be involved with the knowledge of a Completion Handbook? But now, he seemingly roughly knew how they were connected.

Fisher looked at Eliog before him, asking tentatively,

"Agreas choosing to meddle in this matter... could it be to obtain the chaotic power on Duke Tao's body?"

"Oh, you guessed right, awooo. Doesn't it sound inconceivable?"

As if a reward for a child who answered correctly, Eliog kissed his Adam's apple before finally laughing and saying,

"However, knowing you have a very deep understanding of us by now, you should know that she did this entirely to satisfy her [Fundamental Nature]. Her desire for hunting curiosities manifests as an almost obsessive zeal towards entirely novel things. Therefore, she understands the composition of the majority of powers in this world... And the agonizing aspect of this fundamental nature lies in that she can never be satisfied by habits and old things. Which means, she must exhaust herself running around searching for anything that makes her feel novelty...

"Ultimately, she also successfully reached a deal with that mysterious existence from the Spirit World. Duke Tao died because of Agreas's Death Rune. And at the moment of her death, those Mythical Species Elves who lost the Demigod's protection and bitterly held on for so long also perished amidst an irreversible war. Agreas ultimately successfully retrieved that novelty capable of satisfying her fundamental nature for a long time. Furthermore, we demons likely have a slightly better affinity with that thing than Duke Tao did. After all, viewing Agreas, she seems quite normal. Apart from developing a habit of loving to eat her own fingers..."

No wonder. Thinking of it this way, previously lingering questions such as why Erwind would suddenly come to the Dynasty or why Agreas would possess knowledge of the Life Completion Manual were all answered.

However, after finishing listening to these secret machinations Eliog spoke of, Fisher now still had one more question.

That was... where exactly did this fellow Gui run off to in the end? And why does Renee look so similar to her?

It seemed she never appeared again up until the Elves perished. She is highly likely already dead now; could it be that Renee's appearance is related to her?

Speaking of this, Fisher didn't forget to tell Eliog some of the information he knew,

"So it was like this... sounds like Gui's whereabouts since have always been a mystery. But ten thousand years ago, she once comprehended a prophecy concerning annihilation. Moreover, she told me that I'm very special. Helaire also knows about this matter, because Gui contacted her a very long time ago. Recently, I've also gradually begun realizing the anomalies about myself. For instance, my ability to read more than one Completion Handbook, my lack of a past life, and being able to eliminate the fundamental nature causing you to trigger conflicts...

"That friend Cidi knew, who is the senior that once penned a Completion Handbook, requested him to tell me that I am precisely the key to resolving the World-Ending Prophecy. But aside from the areas I just mentioned, I don't understand where my special essence lies, nor am I clear on how my specialness can become the key to resolving the World-Ending Prophecy..."

Fisher relayed intelligence concerning the World-Ending Prophecy to Eliog. Hearing this, Eliog, who had been softly pressing against him all along, also couldn't help but straighten up a little. She earnestly sized him up top to bottom, yet failed to spot anything special.

"Hmm, I don't know if it's because I'm not in my true body right now or if you're inherently very special. I can't spot your uniqueness anyway... However, if we go by what you're saying, I roughly know what Baimon is thinking."

"...What do you mean?"

Eliog looked at Fisher, shooting another glance at that portrait behind him she found somewhat an eyesore, before saying,

"Look, since Baimon knows you're special, but also wishes to pull you out of this quagmire that is the World-Ending Prophecy... though I'm afraid even she herself is very lost, not knowing what to do next, nor knowing if their choices are correct. Moreover, she also so evidently told you that her actions require awaiting an opportunity, which refers to the time when the World-Ending Prophecy arrives...

"If she truly wanted to leave you with absolutely no chance of winning, with her being a free body at the Nineteenth-Tier plus two Demon Gods at the Eighteenth-Tier, I genuinely also find the odds of winning aren't great, even with you knowing those two were released by the Base. Even if she herself came charging here alone right now, with our current state it's impossible to beat her... So, although I view her as an enemy, awooo, I also feel she might be giving you and herself a test."

Eliog softly clicked her tongue, the displeasure on her face growing increasingly apparent. But ultimately, she gently yawned and leaned against Fisher once more, continuing to speak without waiting for his question,

"She wants to confirm whether Gui's words were true, to see if you are truly that special, to see if you're the key to resolving the World-Ending Prophecy... it might also be testing your ability to cope with difficulties. If you fail, would she risk killing all those women you know just to fish you out? Probably something like that. Otherwise, why would she so obviously place the Base right under her residence? This even surprised me a bit... It's too obvious, it's hard to say it wasn't deliberately arranged for you..."

Fisher opened his mouth, and that elusive feeling towards Helaire in his heart seemed to also dissipate bit by bit.

Thinking carefully, perhaps Helaire was indeed thinking this way. Even Eliog, as her enemy, could only helplessly compromise thusly, because the motive behind Helaire's actions was truly too obvious...

So, everything she did was for his sake?

Fisher couldn't help but think this way.

Looking at Fisher's somewhat dazed expression, Eliog unhappily reached out and pinched his cheek, muttering,

"Hold on, stop thinking about it for now, awooo. One look and I can tell you're thinking about how much that damn woman loves you, aren't you... Tch, why does it feel like I'm the one helping explain for her instead? However, given I've known her for a long time, even if we aren't exactly close, I'm still very familiar with her modus operandi. Her acting out of character in everything she does this time is indeed slightly suspicious, but what I just said is merely one possibility, awooo, at best a more highly probable one...

"Furthermore, since it's a test, our journey here being so smooth without encountering any obstacles whatsoever doesn't possess the style of a test at all. I don't believe she would let you pass without playing a single card either. Therefore, the estimate is that once the Base is found by that foolish Whale girl, things will start getting dangerous..."

Eliog pinched Fisher's chin with a "hmph hmph," looking down at him much like an Emperor favoring his Empress. At the same time, the "gurgle gurgle" sound within her chest resounded once more,

"Conversely, before finding the Base, the so-called test shouldn't have begun yett. Everything will remain as quiet as before. And since it is a test, she should also be keeping an eye on your progress the entire time, just like an invigilator for an exam...

"As for me, not only do I have to prove in front of her that I can help you pass that fragile test of hers, but I must also eat you up right before her eyes, right in her home."

Eliog's complexion turned a bit rosier. Following that, as if striving for victory, she provocatively shot a glance at Helaire's portrait on the wall behind Fisher. Without even notifying Fisher, she seized his lips with a kiss...

Just like that, right in Helaire's home, amidst the fragile sound of the chair rubbing slightly against the wool carpet, Eliog decided on a quick battle and quick decision to prove...

Prove what Cidi called "unsatisfied desire."

"Rumble!"

Over the Southern Branch Mountain Range in the southern part of the Southern Continent, the heavens were covered by pitch-black clouds of water vapor. They were so thick that even sunlight couldn't penetrate, only able to pathetically swirl and struggle within, intensifying the already oppressive atmosphere at this standoff between two armies with arrows on strings.

The air was tinged with the bitter saltiness of the ocean and the dense water vapor of impending rain. It accumulated heavily on the chests of every soldier. Regardless of which side, they all stared blankly up at the sky, gazing at the thunder brewing within.

Fierce winds blew from the south, rapidly sweeping over the tree branches atop the mountain range and the numerous tents of the Human Allied Army below.

Inside the main tent of the Allied Army, Barbatos stood by the entrance. The manic gale strangely dissolved bit by bit beside him, turning into a gentle breeze that lifted a strand of his hair.

He reached out his hand and suddenly said,

"It's time to do something. So many humans have been stationed here for months since their departure. The Dragon-kin from the south launched a surprise attack on our rear supply line. This news makes the humans very uneasy. As food decreases, this uneasiness will only intensify. If this continues, I'm afraid it will ruin our plans."

This was clearly a major error while the two armies faced off, yet Barbatos's face didn't show the slightest trace of extra emotion. For a Mythical Species like him, a war of this scale was nothing more than child's play.

If they didn't need Dagon's Blessing on that Dragon Queen, he and Agreas behind him could slaughter the entire Dragon Court entirely on their own.

But at least for now, they still needed these identities arranged for them by Baimon, which was why Barbatos spoke thusly to remind his companion in the tent.

Inside the warm tent, Agreas sat cross-legged on the ground, surrounded by chunks of stone carved with demonic runes. Upon hearing Barbatos's words, her action of piling those stones didn't pause in the slightest. Only when the final stone was placed did her expression turn slightly ugly as she gazed at the unresponsive stones.

"It failed..."

"What failed?"

Barbatos let go of the slightly lifted tent flap and hurriedly walked back inside. This question vanished like smoke the moment he saw what Agreas had piled up, because both of them knew what it was.

This was Agreas's Portal back to the Demon Dynasty.

"What's going on here?"

"When the gift I gave Solomon previously suddenly ran off to Eliog's Castle, I already had an ominous premonition. Moreover, she also seemingly shares an unclear relationship with that Dragon Queen's man. Now the Portal failing is even more so... But how is this possible? That man has Baimon's sigil on him. If he has a relationship with Eliog, given Eliog's temperament, could she endure it?"

Agreas's complexion was ugly. After pondering for a moment, she hastily turned back to look at Barbatos and said,

"Try your Portal, see if it can still be used?"

Without a word, Barbatos beckoned with his hand. The longbow placed on the table flew uncontrollably towards him, landing in his hand. With a thought, the originally dim runes on the bow lit up one after another, as if to open a door to the profound in the void before him...

"Rumble!"

Yet in the next moment, thunderbolts fiercely struck the sky outside the tent, followed by the arriving late thunder. The instant the thunder resounded, the runes in Barbatos's hand also instantly lost their luster.

"...Our Portals within the Dynasty have all been destroyed."

Agreas sneered coldly and said,

"What is the meaning of this? That Fisher knows he's no match for us, so he went to seek Eliog's help? She hasn't been released yet. Even if he gave her soul power to free her soul, it's still far from Mythic level. How could she possibly help him?"

"...Or perhaps, he guessed our schemes, knowing that reading those Completion Handbooks might entail terrible consequences, so he resorted to such methods?"

Agreas shot Barbatos a glance, chaotic thoughts continuously churning in her mind. Subsequently, she froze slightly and said,

"No, that's not right. That Fisher wouldn't be so foolish, unless there's something within the Demon Dynasty he's certain can deal with us. Regardless, I have a bad feeling about this; we have to go back and take a look... But now that our Portals are all destroyed, do we have to go back through the Ten Gates?"

Barbatos stood up expressionlessly, then looked outside and suddenly said,

"Since it's like this, let's accelerate the progress a bit too. Since these humans are dissatisfied, let's give them something to do. Have the entire army prepare to set out; give that Dragon Queen a taste of pain... As for us, forget about the Ten Gates. Mushing through there is extremely troublesome. Fisher destroying the Portals is likely just to delay time; going that way plays right into his hands..."

Agreas looked at him, then subconsciously bit her finger with her mouth. The sound of teeth biting into flesh and bone resulted in a crisp sound from her lips,

"If we don't go through the Ten Gates, how are we supposed to get in? Go search for the Portals of the other Demon Gods scattered across the Surface? Finding them would take forever!"

Barbatos walked to the entrance. Instead of replying immediately, he first summoned a messenger to approach. Afterward, he spoke to Agreas,

"...Did you forget I have a partner? They might not have anticipated that I know the location of Cidi's Portal. And even if they did, Cidi has more than one Portal; they couldn't have destroyed all of them..."

"..."

Agreas stared blankly at a hint of pride and happiness surfacing on Barbatos's expressionless face, as if having a partner was such a wonderful thing, making her want to beat him up.

What's so great about it, you pretentious prick...

She sighed, then stood up as well, looking at the military camp outside that had begun growing restless following Barbatos's orders.

She just had this premonition that the time Baimon spoke of was fast approaching.

Whether having a partner was wonderful or not, Agreas perhaps didn't know and didn't want to know. Yet Fisher undoubtedly understood the joy of possessing a partner. Even his consciousness at this moment was enveloped by Eliog's demands, feeling empty like he was constantly plummeting.

"Drip, drop..."

Within a dream-like, distant space, Fisher lay on the ground, listening to some viscous liquid seemingly dripping down from all directions, producing heavy sounds distinctly different from water droplets hitting the ground.

He dazedly sat up, intending to search for Eliog or other companions within this pitch-blackness. However, upon sitting up, he discovered the surrounding scenery abruptly change, covered in a variety of tall buildings possessing an extremely strong Southern Continent architectural style.

All sorts of wooden buildings were carved with dragon-like curves on their exteriors. Their magnificent and imposing beauty favored every living being residing in this land.

Intuition told Fisher that this was the Femabaha Dragon Court.

Yet within this originally prosperous and great city synonymous with majesty, it was now completely empty. Dead silence echoed in the air. Only lifeless, skeletal structures remained, devoid of any interior.

Shouldn't he be in the Demon Dynasty with Eliog and the others? How did he suddenly arrive here?

Fisher couldn't help but wonder. But in the next second, he abruptly saw a very familiar back figure sitting on a public bench by the roadside ahead.

The golden hair on that back figure's head was sparse, making his reflective scalp clearly visible. Wearing classical Dragon Court robes, he simply sat quietly on that public bench, silently gazing at the empty, utterly silent Dragon Court before him.

"Caleb Uz?"

Fisher muttered, then slowly approached him. Hearing Fisher's voice behind him, Caleb Uz's meditative posture trembled slightly. He turned his head like he had come alive to look at Fisher. After a long silence, his expression actually revealed a hint of relief.

"You've arrived..."

"...Why am I here?"

"Because you have finished reading the Completion Handbook I wrote, and you haven't gone mad yet. This isn't an ability just anyone possesses..."

Caleb Uz's face remained the middle-aged appearance from when he first arrived in this world, only his face carried far too much exhaustion, to the point he couldn't even keep his eyes open. After explaining this sentence to Fisher, he turned back to look at the dead silent Dragon Court ahead, as if his soul was trapped here, forever denied freedom.

This made Fisher quickly realize that the existence before him was different from the phantom of Caleb Uz he saw when reading the Mythic section of the Soul Completion Handbook. He remained silent for a while before questioning,

"Did I finish reading it? I remember I was merely looking at it, but I was thinking about other things at the time, and I don't remember what you wrote at the end either..."

"You just don't remember, but that knowledge has indeed already been read into your body... Moreover, honestly speaking, whether you read the final part or not is no longer of much significance; it's merely a bit of my repentance."

"Repentance? What are you repenting for?"

Filled with doubt, Fisher sat down beside him, looking alongside him at the completely empty Dragon Court before them.

While Caleb Uz fell silent for a long time before continuing,

"Yes, what am I repenting for... I suppose it's for my wife and daughter. I failed them, and I even lied to myself like a fool for so long."

"Your wife and daughter, I remember..."

"In reality, my wife and daughter died long ago. I only discovered this point much later during the process of retracing my soul. My wife didn't cheat, and indeed, my daughter actually loved me. It was my fault. I neglected them, I prioritized other things over them, until my wife couldn't bear it anymore, until I disappointed my daughter. Even when I refused to divorce my wife, one night she still left our home with our daughter... The tragedy happened that very night."

Caleb Uz cradled his face, calmly narrating all this as if it were another person's story, completely unrelated to him.

Fisher involuntarily thought of how he had read through the memories of his many past lives. He wondered if this was the consequence of doing so; it made him not just "Caleb Uz" but a "composite" existence, causing things that should have been very important to Caleb Uz to become completely meaningless.

"Then why did you believe they were still alive back then?"

"Because of Asuka Karasawa, the President of the Creation Society..."

Fisher froze slightly, only to hear him continue,

"Back then, I didn't realize how important they were to me until I lost them. I nearly went mad. I entered this world in that state and sank into depression for a long time. She had been observing me from the shadows ever since I arrived here. She worried that me being in such a state would cause unprecedented harm, so she tampered with my memories using magic, causing me to deceive myself for so long... Hah, she's best at doing this. Not only deceiving others, but also deceiving herself.

"And the time I've been in this world is far longer than I imagined. She reset my memories many times before I finally stabilized and was tossed into the Dragon Court of the Southern Continent by her... Becoming a 'brand new' transferred person. Only later she didn't know where to go either, so she had no way to manage me and the other transferred persons anymore, ultimately letting me discover the truth..."

Fisher felt a shock in his heart. He hadn't expected Asuka Karasawa to actually employ such methods to contain the harm of transferred persons. Moreover, it sounded truly somewhat inconceivable.

Whenever she discovered other transferred persons displaying dangerous tendencies in their hearts, would she deal with them like she dealt with Caleb Uz, washing their memories clean then tossing them somewhere anew, disguised as if they had just crossed over?

It was just a pity that since Caleb Uz's condition worsened later on but Asuka Karasawa didn't intervene further, it meant that the Asuka of that time had already entered the Spirit World and ultimately went missing as the Lord of Fate said. This indicated that he inevitably also didn't know Asuka's exact whereabouts.

Thinking of this, Fisher changed the subject. Sweeping a glance around the empty Dragon Court, he asked,

"Then why are you appearing here? This should be the Dragon Court of the Femabaha era, right?"

Caleb Uz stiffly nodded, yet didn't directly answer. Instead, taking the opportunity to ask Fisher another question,

"Fisher, tell me, why do those 'Stars' residing in the Spirit World gaze upon everything in this world around the clock without rest? They possess such tremendous power, yet display no intention of interfering with this world whatsoever. Even that 'War of Stars' that invaded Reality was merely because their own safety was threatened, leading them to desire migration..."

Fisher froze slightly, subsequently recalling "Pisces," whom he had seen via Star Magic back then. Throughout this journey, he had already heard countless times about the Stars in the Spirit World gazing at this world eternally, yet never once thought about why they would do so.

He pondered for a moment before finally replying,

"They are 'recording,' right?"

"Exactly, they are recording. They are passionate about recording the stories and epics they witness. This is their nature and what they love doing the most. Then you should know where they were born... They came from the Sea of Souls in the Spirit World, which is a part of the 'Ocean,' and also the only visible place within the 'formless Sea of Souls.'"

Previously, Caleb Uz had mentioned that aside from the souls of this world Fisher was in being visible, souls beyond the world were actually invisible. Therefore, even the gods never realized that souls had owners.

"So, are you trying to say that the habits and practices of that group of Chaos-kin actually stem from the true owner of the Sea of Souls, that Chaos existing beyond the world, namely the [Ocean] you speak of, right?"

"...You are very smart. That is exactly what I mean."

Caleb Uz turned his head to look at him, seemingly finding Fisher's comprehension abilities exceeded his imagination, causing even his numb face to show a hint of fluctuation. He continued,

"The reason the gods cannot discover the Ocean, aside from Its own level being too high, also stems from Its seldom interfering, only harboring a love for recording. And as Its creations, souls also possess Its trait of recording. That is why we can retrace the source of souls and see the memories recorded by souls, our past lives... And Soul Chaos also possesses this trait. Which is why the me you see now is also [recorded] by the Chaos of the Completion Handbook..."

Fisher rubbed his chin, recalling his own completely empty "past life."

"But, the past life I saw was completely empty."

"...There are only two possibilities for this. Either you are a 'newly-created' soul, or your 'records' were erased by some unknown existence."

Fisher thought for a moment, feeling both possibilities were exceptionally serious, leaving him feeling rather unnatural.

"Pursuing the mysteries of yourself is a good thing. It would be best if you could recall a bit more of the wonderful things in your past, the people you loved, the people who loved you... You should do whatever wonderful things you can, as much as possible... Because, since you can see me, it means the Chaos I left inside the Completion Handbook is about to fully enter your body. At that moment, you will merge with it, directly facing the source of Soul Chaos. You will become the Base for its descent, bear its power, and become the world's destroyer..."

Fisher's expression blanked slightly. Yet viewing Caleb Uz expressionlessly looking at the hollow city ahead, speaking in a completely emotionless tone,

"You are already near the end of this path. This is also the path we transferred persons have repeated countless times. Regretfully, every person who reached this point understood this was a dead end, yet no one had the opportunity to warn the latecomers not to follow in our footsteps. They could only allow corpse after corpse to pave the way, allowing disaster after disaster to be born...

"At the time, the me who read my past lives had already grown indifferent towards my feelings for my wife and daughter, naturally eliminating the necessity to continue walking downward. But Chaos pushed me constantly forward. Only then did I realize that everything was completely out of my control... all of us transferred persons are merely pawns used by Chaos to collapse this world from the inside, the kind that are discarded after use. And what comes before and after the pawns has never been decided by themselves..."

Fisher furrowed his brows, looking at Caleb Uz who resembled a sculpture before him, unable to resist asking,

"Why did the Chaos from the outside set its sights on our world? And why is our world destined for Destruction? Are the gods of our world completely oblivious to this and powerless to act?"

"The secrets to everything lie within the Spirit World. Go there, and you will know the answer. When your rationality and everything are taken over by Chaos, you will temporarily see everything in the Spirit World... right before you die."

Fisher rested his hands on his legs, feeling somewhat melancholic regarding Caleb Uz's warning deep down.

Of course, perhaps his heart also held a sliver of hope, such as what Gui told him about his specialness previously. But Fisher's personality inherently prevented him from pinning everything on that sliver of uncertain luck.

Furthermore, experience told him that his reading Completion Handbooks wasn't completely free of side effects. The side effects verging on madness made him resemble neither human nor ghost; he was just bitterly holding on so far...

Just as Renee worried, what if he truly turns into a ball when the time comes?

The key was, this ball would be an explosive "scourge"!

However, upon thinking of Raphaela and the others, the hesitancy in Fisher's heart dissolved bit by bit.

If he didn't read the Completion Handbook, then these risks wouldn't be borne by him. But what would happen to Raphaela, Jasmine, and these people who seemed connected to the World-Ending Prophecy?

"...But I have to try. Try if I can defeat them, Caleb Uz. The goal you strove for was illusory, but mine is not. They are still by my side. I took their most precious things, and now is the time to repay them."

"...Having something to strive for is indeed a blessing. Speaking in hindsight, when I still mistakenly believed my wife and daughter were alive, my motivation was indeed at its strongest. After the lie was exposed, my condition sharply plummeted until encountering almost inevitable death. Looking at it this way, you and I are very similar. It's just that the women you're involved with are too many, yet there is only one child..."

Caleb Uz looked at Fisher beside him, shaking his head before continuing,

"I'm merely informing you. The Soul Chaos is fast approaching. For this, it has already begun washing away previous 'records,' which is why you can see me right now, and why I can tell you my failures and experiences..."

But Fisher became spaced out. It was several seconds later that he spoke, his brain seemingly overloaded,

"Hold on... what... what child?"

Yet Caleb Uz was too lazy to answer Fisher's question anymore, because in the next second, his body, along with everything Fisher saw around him—those buildings, the bench they were sitting on—all began to "melt" entirely, turning into masses of terrifying Black Mud that seemed to emit an invisible suction force outwards...

On the path of resisting Soul Chaos, even Caleb Uz failed. And when it came to getting along with a child, he was even more at a loss for words. Thus, he didn't reply to Fisher's words anymore, merely giving him a final reminder,

"From now on, the 'Ocean' will observe your every move perpetually. If you want to do something to resist Him, remember to think it in your heart. You must speak and act with caution..."

After finishing this sentence, Fisher's vision lit up slightly. The surrounding Black Mud abruptly vanished. He felt like he had been momentarily smashed down from high up in the air, landing in a seated position on a chair.

His clothes were messy, and in front of him, Eliog, draped over him, was also panting slightly. Like a kitten, she emitted a "gurgle gurgle" sound that resembled bubbling magma from her throat; it seemed she felt extremely satisfied.

Fisher opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but was completely misinterpreted by Eliog. She turned sideways, swept her tail, and kissed him.

"Mwah."

Only then did she smartly hop off Fisher's body like having enjoyed a full meal, standing aside to tidy the clothes on her and scattered on the floor.

"That was satisfying, awooo. The timing was perfect too, not bad, not bad..."

"..."

"What's wrong? What are you thinking about?"

Fisher's heartbeat gradually quickened. He felt as if he was entirely embedded within the chair. He looked down, only to see the portion of himself in contact with the chair had completely turned soft and pitch-black, sticking to the chair like Black Mud.

And his entire person suddenly experienced an unprecedented sense of palpitation. The ringing and murmurs in his ears grew increasingly distinct, and even his vision increasingly doubled.

But sensing Eliog sizing him up over here, seemingly wondering why he suddenly stopped talking, Fisher let out a long breath and forced a smile,

"...Nothing, it was just too... comfortable."

Eliog froze slightly, subsequently revealing a wicked smile. Seemingly taking this sentence as praise, even the tail behind her perked upright,

"You, awooo..."

"Professor Fisher, Professor Fisher! I found it... I found the Base!"

It was exactly at this moment that an urgent flurry of footsteps bounded up from downstairs. This caused the expressions of the two who were just about to say something to change slightly, simultaneously looking towards the stairs.

Hearing the sounds coming from downstairs at this moment, Fisher froze slightly. Next, he quickly tidied up the clothes on his body, but the physical form behind him that had already begun twisting and deforming was difficult to restore to human appearance.

"Do you want me to help you, Fisher?"

Exactly at this moment, that tender voice appeared in his mind once again. Fisher froze slightly, similarly asking within his heart,

"Can you help me, Cupid?"

"I can... but..."

"But?"

"But Fisher has to say he loves me first."

Wait, according to Caleb Uz's explanation, shouldn't this Consciousness Abyss also be a part of himself? Could it be that he was just this narcissistic, causing his alienated consciousness to become so bizarre?

"Cupid, you aren't the real Helaire, you are merely..."

"Can't you say it?"

"Tap tap... tap..."

The urgent sound of Jasmine's footsteps came from the stairs. Fisher was forced to glance at the continuously alienating portion behind him. He didn't know if it was because he had just done it with Eliog, or if the Chaos that [recorded] Caleb Uz earlier was thriving further within his body, causing his control over his body to become increasingly fragile right now. He had no choice but to compromise with this illusory Cupid in his mind,

"Alright, I love Cupid the most."

"I love you the most too."

But fortunately, the words in his mind wouldn't be heard by others, so whether he said them or not actually didn't matter.

However, Fisher wasn't certain if this was a good sign. According to Caleb Uz's explanation, this Consciousness Abyss should inherently be a part of the power he obtained after finishing reading the Soul Completion Handbook. It was fine to ignore it, yet right now it seemingly possessed some means to manipulate that chaotic power...

Could it be the consequence of him conversing with it?

But if this were the case, Caleb Uz should have clearly written not to converse with it.

Cupid also kept her promise. The seemingly melting portion of Fisher's body behind him gradually solidified. Taking this opportunity, he stood up from the chair he was just on. Subconsciously, he wanted to put away the Soul Completion Handbook laid open on the desk, but upon glancing over, the desktop was completely empty; there was no trace of any Handbook whatsoever.

Beside him, even though Eliog was often competitive, she lacked interest in the Jasmine coming upstairs now. Or rather, she still harbored no hostility towards ladies other than Baimon, just as if the others had nothing to do with her.

Consequently, because she had just eaten and drunk her fill, her mood right now was rather decent. Watching Fisher stand up to tidy himself, she wasn't annoyed in the slightest, merely watching him adjust his clothes with a "gurgle gurgle" sound.

"Professor Fisher, I... I found the Base."

Not long after, the panting Jasmine came up from the staircase towards the end of the library. But the ventilation in this place was so good that the further in she walked, the heavier the warm scent of saltpeter became, as if something had burned inside. It made her involuntarily wave her hand to fan the air before her nose,

"Professor Fisher, you guys... what were you two doing here just now?"

Thank the Mother Goddess, the atmosphere when engaging in affairs with demons was starkly different from other races. Consequently, poor Jasmine didn't realize what had transpired here for a moment; she merely suddenly felt that Eliog's mood had gotten somewhat better.

Of course, as the saying goes, the most dangerous place is also the safest place. This logic applied equally to time as well.

Jasmine couldn't even imagine they would engage in that matter within the timeframe they were searching for the Base, so her train of thought didn't lean in that direction at all.

She was, after all, still inexperienced. Not seeing a bed, she thought there were no options, completely unaware that for a truly starved demon, anywhere could be a dining room.

"We were just researching, awooo."

"Researching?"

"Ah, researching tactics..."

Looking at the foolishly somewhat adorable Whale-kin before her, Eliog couldn't help but feel a bit more fondness towards her in her heart. Before Fisher could even speak up, she took the initiative to explain,

"We were just thinking about how to destroy the Base. But because we aren't clear on the Base's specific properties, we could only rely on Fisher's memories to make hypotheses, awooo... But now that you've already found the Base, things will be easier. Let's head down to take a look. By the way, where did that damn Baimon hide that thing?"

Fisher froze slightly. He then looked at Eliog beside him, who was yawning again and lying with a straight face and normal complexion. He quickly noticed that a small section at the tip of this fellow's tail was swaying slightly in a counter-clockwise direction...

Mm, only now did Fisher realize this was the little habit this demon cat had when lying.

"Ah, the Base is right... well, anyway, Professor Fisher, if you guys just come down and take a look with me, you'll know. They are already waiting beside it. I solved a mechanism before I opened it!"

Jasmine said proudly while taking a few steps back.

Both Eliog and Fisher were somewhat surprised, Eliog especially. She shot Fisher a glance, then looked at Jasmine, clicking her tongue,

"Feels like Baimon's home holds absolutely no secrets from you guys. One effortlessly deactivated her entrance restriction, and you, this little Whale-kin girl, even dug out the place she hides things..."

"Hehe, actually I just touched it and it opened... Furthermore, my name is Jasmine, Demon God Eliog."

Eliog nodded, because she had previously heard Fisher call the other party's name,

"I know, the first time I saw you was still in Saint-Nazareth... Actually, back then I felt like I had heard your name somewhere before, but it must have been an illusion. Let's go, awooo. Let's go see what's up with that Base..."

"..."

When Jasmine led Fisher and Eliog downstairs, they happen to see Cidi leaning against the doorway. He merely swept a glance at Eliog, gave a faint smile, and said nothing further.

The current Eliog was visibly refreshed and invigorated. He didn't even need to employ his abilities to size it up; only this little fool Jasmine, who had just outgrown her fledgling status, couldn't tell.

And the Lord of Death and Eimhart were currently standing before that "Giant Sleeping Portrait of Fisher." Only now, compared to before, a circular hole with smooth edges and roughly wide enough to fit a person had opened on the floor, though how it was done remained unknown.

That hole led straight underground. Even though they had just come down, they could feel the terrifying aura endlessly seeping out from that hole.

Eimhart narrowed his eyes and shot Fisher a glance, then flew back onto his shoulder with a face full of suspicion. He looked him up and down, shot a glance at Jasmine and Eliog, then leaned close to Fisher's ear and whispered,

"Real or fake, you had to do it even in such a short amount of time? You truly leave me staring dumbfounded!"

Indeed, Eimhart was familiar with Fisher, practically seeing through the situation from earlier at a glance. Even his tone trembled slightly,

"You're mad. This is Baimon's lair! Doing it with Jasmine in Eliog's Castle was one thing, but you actually dared to bring her to her home. Given your relationship with her, you're genuinely courageous. Aren't you afraid..."

"Are you afraid?"

"I..." Eimhart was suddenly stumped. Following that, his already red book cover grew even redder, to the point golden light from text began glowing from his mouth. "What am I afraid of? The one doing bad things is you, not me! I see you've stayed with Baimon for too long, genuinely treating her like a vegetarian. Just you wait!"

Although this fellow would usually verbally mention Helaire no matter what—even if he went outside and got drenched by rain, he'd probably suspect it was Helaire's fault—at this critical juncture, he didn't dare utter a single word.

At the thought of Helaire, Fisher's expression also paused slightly, but he quickly returned to normal. He looked at that wide open hole, and the crimson mist dispersing bit by bit from within.

This aura...

It indeed was that Base without a doubt.

"Previously, I felt that thing was right down here somewhere nearby, so I searched around here for quite a while. Until I discovered a hidden compartment behind a painting; the hidden compartment was what I used to open this hole."

Fisher furrowed his brows, then asked exactly which painting Jasmine was talking about just now. Jasmine turned back to look for it, but the result was the Lord of Death, who was standing quite far from the hole, bringing it over and handing it to him—Holland had also been scrutinizing this painting just now.

While handing it to Fisher, he added,

"Aside from a hidden compartment on the back, there's also an annotation left by Demon God Baimon, but I can't read this text."

"Annotation?"

Fisher first swept a glance at the Lord of Death, not knowing why he stood so far from that hole. After that, he looked at the painting in his hand, which depicted a scene he didn't understand at all.

Above, he saw a... statue of a person with a benevolent yet strange appearance?

That statue was entirely made of wood. One hand was raised vertically, forming an odd hand seal, while sitting cross-legged on a lotus flower. It was draped in an embroidered gold-purple robe, seemingly looking down at Fisher from above.

And above that statue, text from another world was drawn. That square, upright appearance... it seemed to be the text from where the Demi-Human Girl Con was from?

Written upon it was: "Buddha" (佛)

Fisher furrowed his brows, failing to comprehend the meaning behind this scene. Left with no choice, he turned it over. This painting was completely different from the other paintings Helaire left behind. It had no title; instead, it possessed a... hidden mechanism compartment left by magic, which seemingly was the hole storing the Base that the magic activated.

That magic wasn't demonic magic. Instead, it was humanity's most orthodox magic, yet the level of this magic was unfathomably profound. It shouldn't have been left by Helaire; otherwise, with Fisher's understanding of magic, it would be impossible for him not to sense this magic when they first entered.

And beneath that magic, Helaire personally penned a sentence using Angelic text, which was precisely the annotation the Lord of Death spoke of,

"You've finally come to retrieve your own thing."

"..."

It was because of the existence of the Translation Relic that Fisher could understand the text on it. Eimhart could as well, he just didn't dare look at even a single painting due to his fear of Helaire. Therefore, before he and Eliog came down, both Jasmine and the Lord of Death shouldn't have been able to read the meaning conveyed on it.

Fisher read the sentence above aloud, and Jasmine voiced her shock and doubt,

"Wait, Professor Fisher, was this Base originally your item?"

"...How could that be? It was formed using the entirety of the Phoenix Race because of the existence of the Spirit World Contamination. But I indeed had history with it previously. Or rather, Helaire hopes I'll take the Base away, so she wrote this sentence?"

Fisher flipped the painting over again and murmured,

"Furthermore, the front of this painting likely depicts a scene from the transferred persons' world. I don't recognize whatever is on this. Oh right, Demon God Cidi, do you recognize the text on this?"

He recalled Demon God Cidi, who was a close friend of the Demi-Human Girl Con, so he prepared to display this thing for Cidi to take a look at. The result was that he didn't even look at it, a helpless look appearing on his bewitching face, spreading his hands and saying,

"Kid, she used the Southern Continent language when making friends with me; she never taught me her own language. Previously, when she gave me that rune activating her secret treasure, I even asked about the rune's meaning, but she only smiled and didn't tell me... She never considered teaching me her language at all, and I'm guessing not a single person in this world knows how her language is written or spoken."

"..."

It indeed was like that. Ever since that group of transferred persons arrived in this world, they had been viewed as scourges by the Mythical Species. They were too busy running for their lives; how could they have the opportunity to impart their own language to the locals?

Wasn't this tantamount to telling everyone, "Haha, I'm precisely the transferred person you want to kill, quickly come catch me"?

Fisher had no leads. Beneath Jasmine's somewhat confused gaze, he could only temporarily set this painting down, preparing to step forward and look at that hole. At this time, however, the Lord of Death beside them suddenly spoke to him,

"Hold on, Fisher, don't step forward anymore. That thing will trigger the Chaos on us. Just now I felt my Death Completion Manual becoming more restless... I'm fine, but you... if I'm not mistaken, your Completion Handbook has already vanished and entered your body, right?"

"..."

Fisher stalled in place. Following that, he suddenly discovered that in a place unseen by others, his hand supporting the picture frame started mutating uncontrollably again, gradually beginning to turn into a fluid state.

He silently took a step back, hiding that hand supporting the picture frame by his side in passing.

Jasmine hadn't forgotten the reason Raphaela sent her here. She acutely perceived the new noun in the Lord of Death's words, "Completion Handbook."

Could that thing be the "path of taking a risk in desperation" Professor Fisher was pursuing?

"Professor Fisher, you..."

"Jasmine, Eliog. Holland and I are unable to approach that Base. Can you guys see if there's a way to extract that Base? Being able to control and utilize it is best; if worse comes to worst, destroying it is also viable..."

Jasmine swept a glance at Fisher's right hand bizarrely placed by his side yet still supporting the painting. She pursed her lips and was about to take a step forward, but Fisher's words abruptly came again, stopping her advance,

"Jasmine... as long as that Base escapes Helaire's control, those two Demon Gods will return to their sealed state. At that time, Raphaela's crisis can also be resolved. Don't forget what our goal of coming here is."

Jasmine pursed her lips, looking at Fisher before her, eventually choosing not to step forward.

Professor Fisher hadn't reached that stage yet. If she hurried up and helped him, perhaps both Professor Fisher and Raphaela could be safe in the end...

She hastily turned her head back to look at the unfathomable hole behind her. Eliog had already been crouching beside it observing for quite a while. At this juncture, her observation already yielded a conclusion,

"There's Baimon's life barrier down below. If that barrier can be destroyed, that Base should be able to be extracted. But Baimon's tier is very high; breaching it requires a certain amount of time, yet on our side..."

Eliog swept a glance at Jasmine, extending her own hand. Looking at Jasmine before her, she said,

"There is chaotic power within my body. You provide the pure Power of Lamastia on you. With our opposing forces, we should be able to speed up the progress."

"Huh huh, Lord Ramastia's power? Me?"

"Oh, didn't your family tell you? You don't think life force can be casually bestowed to others, do you?"

"My Blessing? So I just need to channel life force into it?"

"Who knows about you Whale-kin... Anyway, your power indeed belongs to Lamastia; doing it this way will definitely work."

Watching Eliog and Jasmine simultaneously reach out their hands aiming at the unfathomable hole, just about to start breaking the barrier Baimon left behind, an ominous premonition suddenly arose in Fisher's heart.

Sure enough, in the next second, Cidi leaning against the doorway behind them seemingly sensed something. With a bitter smile, he raised his hand to speak,

"Um, everyone, there's a piece of bad news, do you want to hear it?"

Fisher turned his head back, only to see the pink mist swirling in his eyes abruptly turn exceedingly bright. Bizarre runes were spinning, seemingly echoing something far away.

At the exact same time, the Gate of Knowledge also seemed to vibrate slightly, rattling the picture frames scattered on the floor uncontrollably.

Eliog's complexion shifted. She turned back to look outside and said,

"Impossible, that's the sound of a Portal activating, but we..."

Cidi smiled helplessly. Spreading his hands towards them, he said,

"So yeah, don't forget my relationship with my partner Barbatos just because I'm male. I forgot to remind you guys that Barbatos also knows the location of my Portal. Since he wants to open my Portal, it means your act of destroying their Portals was discovered by him..."

"Tch!"

Eliog stood up with a frown. Hurrying to stand before Cidi, she said to him earnestly,

"Cidi, deny them entry... In this lifetime, I haven't begged you for much; only for this matter must you help us out. Barbatos and Agreas are being manipulated by Baimon. Even if you help them, that beast Baimon won't set you free. This is a game of hers. You and we are merely pawns, you must..."

"Alright alright, I know. Don't be so serious, Eliog..."

As Cidi spoke, his peripheral vision landed on Fisher behind Eliog. Subsequently, he also smiled bewitchingly and said,

"You are my close friend, and your man is also the junior of another close friend of mine. I won't refuse to help you guys. I have already denied Barbatos entry. But you know that even in my true body I am no match for him, let alone now... I can only lock him outside the door for a very short period of time. Moreover, me rejecting him also lets him know I have awoken; he will be even more desperate to enter this place. You guys must hurry up~"

"...Thanks, Cidi."

Eliog reached out and punched Cidi's shoulder. Without looking back, she ran towards Jasmine and said to her,

"Hurry up, awooo. Use all your strength to quickly breach this barrier. Those two fellows whose true bodies have run out will arrive very soon. Our current state isn't even enough to fill the gaps in their teeth. I'm fine, but if you guys don't want to die, hurry up!"

"Oh! Okay!"

Hearing this, Jasmine also grew tense. She hastily closed her eyes, activating her own Blessing.

She hadn't used her own Curse for a very, very long time, to the point the power of the Curse was almost disappearing from her. The power Eliog spoke of also shouldn't be this portion.

While Jasmine and Eliog gave their all to breach Helaire's barrier, the complexion of Cidi leaning against the doorway also grew increasingly pallid. He seemed to be devoting all his strength to stop his husband from breaking down the door, but given his abilities, it was clearly extremely strenuous. The vibration of the entire Gate of Knowledge had also begun to grow increasingly distinct...

The Lord of Death beside them still maintained his lack of interest, because truthfully speaking, this matter had nothing to do with him.

And following the trembling of the entire Dynasty, the portrait of Fisher hanging directly above on the wall also began rapping against the wall surface, emitting crisp "clack clack clack" sounds one after another.

Much like a starting pistol primed and ready, signaling the beginning of certain matters.

As Eliog and Jasmine channeled two opposing forces—one of Chaos and the other of Order—down towards Helaire's barrier below, the door sealing the Base gradually widened, displaying its terrifying presence to the entities outside.

The unfathomable hole in the center of the hall became increasingly profound, and a wisp of faint crimson mist spread out from within. Anyone who saw that mist instantly had their hair stand on end, as if they were being stared at by some terror originating deep within their souls.

"Ugh..."

Jasmine's reaction was particularly strong. Unwittingly, her hair started turning pitch-black again. It was as if from within that mist, she heard a faint, mindless yet profoundly meaningful murmuring voice.

She heard the crimson mist's call, as if trying to drag her closer into the hole,

"All conditioned phenomena... are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow... like dew and like lightning..."

"Wh-what?"

She understood the words murmured within the mist, but failed to comprehend their profound meaning. Her action of outputting pure life force paused slightly, her attention drawn by the dream-like, illusory crimson mist.

"Hey! Whale-kin! Focus! This isn't class time!"

"Ah, ah! Sorry!"

Jasmine awakened as if from a dream. She hastily snapped out of the mindless words coming from the crimson mist, returning her focus to Baimon's barrier before her. Yet, she still couldn't help but ask Eliog beside her,

"Demon God Eliog, did you... not hear some entity speaking?"

"You mean those meaningless murmurs within the crimson mist? Ignore them. Those sounds originate from the [Contamination] of the Spirit World. Be careful not to let those noises fry your brain."

"Mm..."

How strange, meaningless noises? But the crimson mist was clearly speaking...

Jasmine had no time to analyze whether Eliog could understand what the crimson mist was saying, because in the next moment, the trembling sound of the entire Dynasty became even more distinct. It was like an earthquake. Even the magma beneath the black reefs, covered in the Mother Goddess Seal, began boiling restlessly.

The Lord of Death couldn't stand steadily. He hastily reached out to support himself against the wall beside him, saying helplessly,

"Wait, does this happen every time you demons use a Portal? So loud and chaotic, wouldn't the other Demon Gods have objections?"

Cidi, leaning against the doorway, was drenched in fragrant sweat. Plagued by weakness, his body went soft and slid down against the wall until he sat on the floor bit by bit. Yet even so, he still had the luxury to answer the Lord of Death's question,

"Of course not. This is solely because I denied Barbatos entry, and the resulting phenomenon of him forcefully breaking down the door... Essentially, this is a direct clash between my power and his. Domestic violence, kid, it's very terrifying~"

"..."

The Lord of Death raised an eyebrow. Fisher, on the other hand, surmised from Cidi's increasingly unsustainable state that his strength in resisting Barbatos and the others from entering was already at the end of its tether. No matter what, Cidi's current tier, even at its maximum, was only at the Thirteenth Tier, while the other side simultaneously possessed two Eighteenth Tier Demon Gods. Being able to hold on for a few minutes was already considering quite good.

"Everyone, I won't be able to hold on much longer. If I persist any further, my soul will suffer damage... I'll count down twenty numbers, and they will enter the Dynasty. Twenty, nineteen..."

"Is this all you've got, Cidi?! Weren't you bragging to me earlier about how you had Barbatos completely submissive? How come you can't even hold on for two minutes now, awooo?!"

Looking at the barrier beneath the hole that had only just begun to be breached, Eliog couldn't help but grit her teeth and turn back to curse. Cidi also smiled helplessly, cupping his cheeks and pausing the countdown to say,

"That's in bed. Normally, I can..."

But Fisher couldn't allow them to waste any more time. After pondering for a moment, he immediately got ready to get up and head outside,

"I'll go to the Gate of Carnal Desire to see if I can stall for time. You guys hurry up and extract the Base, then seal them back inside..."

"No way!"

"No way! How could Professor Fisher possibly stop both of them simultaneously!"

As soon as these words came out, Eliog and Jasmine simultaneously paused their process of breaking Baimon's barrier. Eliog, in particular, stood straight up and came to Fisher's side, speaking to him with utmost seriousness,

"You going alone definitely won't work, it's tantamount to courting death... but there's no time left. I'll go with you. Let them continue breaking Baimon's barrier here, then extract the Base as quickly as possible."

"Against two Eighteenth Tier entities, what difference does one more or one less make?"

"There is. I know Agreas and Barbatos; they will definitely listen when I speak. Perhaps I can even clearly explain Baimon's conspiracy to them... at the very least, I can stall for a bit longer. If you go alone, are you familiar with them?"

"Then here..."

"Leave it to Cidi and Jasmine, those two..."

Cidi helplessly raised his hands and said with a smile,

"Everyone, we agreed in advance that I am neutral. I will not help you."

Veins bulged on Eliog's forehead, and the fireball behind her tail grew larger and larger. Evidently, she was infuriated to no small degree. She instantly appeared before Cidi, grabbing him and slamming him against the wall, speaking angrily,

"Cidi! I have already told you multiple times, this is Baimon's conspiracy, not a matter of whether to help your husband or not. Furthermore, you've already helped us block Barbatos; do you still need to be hypocritical about whether to help us a second time here? It's not like you're being asked to confront Barbatos head-on, just helping us deal with Baimon's barrier, is that so hard?"

Cidi's misty pink eyes just looked at Eliog before him. His smile remained just as before, still unmoved,

"Eliog, we agreed. And besides, up until now, I've only been listening to your side of the story. Although Baimon's reputation precedes her, in truth, she and I, and even you originally, are completely unrelated. You are my close friend, and so is Agreas; that kid is my junior, and Barbatos is my husband. Both sides are already even; no matter which side I help, it's incorrect...

"And fundamentally speaking, this matter has absolutely nothing to do with you at all. Your involvement is also to help your man. I feel happy for you, which is why I gave my all to help you guys block Barbatos... Besides, don't you guys have another person over there who can use the power of Chaos? Why come to me? Finding him works too. Otherwise, why is he here? For a vacation?"

Cidi looked smilingly at Holland, the Lord of Death, resting against the wall. Eliog also turned her head to look at him, while Cidi resumed his countdown as well,

"Eight... seven..."

"I..."

Holland froze slightly, subsequently exchanging a glance with Fisher. Within his pair of black eyes, Fisher read his conflicted hesitation.

Fisher knew why he would hesitate at this moment. Recalling the reason the Lord of Death followed him here: he came here seeking death. In other words, everything Fisher was facing right now actually had absolutely nothing to do with him...

Baimon, the World-Ending Prophecy, the scene of fierce conflict, the Dragon Court's crisis... none of it concerned him at all. Those were Fisher's lovers and friends, while he was merely a collaborator who had met Fisher twice.

You take my Completion Handbook, and I get to die as my heart desires. It was just that simple.

But the problem now was, the Lord of Death had just stated that the closer he got to the Base, the more the Chaos on his Completion Handbook would be triggered and amplified. Therefore, not only did he stay far away from that place himself, but he also had to warn Fisher to stay far away from that place too.

Essentially, he hadn't read much of that Completion Handbook initially, so even if he got close, the growth wouldn't be much. But the crux of the issue lay in the fact that the Chaos of the Death Completion Manual would distance him further and further from his path pursuing death. This was also the truth he told Fisher.

And now that Cidi was unwilling to help, if he were to help Fisher and replace Eliog, his pursuit of ultimate death would become increasingly difficult...

Furthermore, he had already roughly guessed what the other party had wanted to tell him earlier: there was nothing within the Demon Dynasty that could help him die.

In this brief one-second exchange of glances, Fisher had already understood the reason behind the Lord of Death's inaction at this moment. But Eliog behind him couldn't bear it any longer, immediately saying to him,

"Right, aren't you also an owner of a Completion Handbook? You..."

"Eliog, just stay here. I will go alone. You guys hurry up. If I reveal everything, it should also be able to delay for a period of time."

But Fisher didn't force the issue. The significance of death to Holland was something others couldn't comprehend. When Fisher currently couldn't produce any method to solve his undying nature for him, asking him to sacrifice for himself was clearly baseless.

"Four... three..."

"Are you serious, awooo? I see you're tired of living!"

Eliog released Cidi, who was still counting down before her. Fisher merely shot her a glance. Following that, he gently placed Eimhart, who was on his shoulder, down. His entire being instantly vanished from his spot, rushing towards the direction of the Gate of Carnal Desire.

"Professor Fisher!"

"Ouch! Fisher, take me with you! Ahhh! This is all Baimon, that damned fellow's fault! I really am..."

"Two... one..."

Hovering in mid-air, Eimhart watched Fisher vanish from his spot. Beside him, Cidi, whose complexion was somewhat pale, finished reading the final two numbers. With the end of the countdown, the trembling sounds of the entire Demon Dynasty ceased. Even the surging of the magma outside and the noisy cries of those minor demons all halted at this moment...

Because everyone present instantly felt that above the Dynasty, two extremely terrifying entities descended into Cidi's palace within the Gate of Carnal Desire.

Without the bindings of hiding in the human world, combined with having just clashed with Cidi's consciousness trying to close the door, they now had no more scruples within their own home. They unleashed their original, most terrifying, and oppressive power.

Two Demon Gods were currently right above them.

Within Baimon's palace, everyone's complexion changed slightly. Jasmine pursed her lips. Even though her face was pale and her complexion wan, she still unhesitatingly ran back to the side of that hole, using all her strength to channel her life force towards that barrier.

Because she understood that for Fisher, who traveled alone to obstruct the two Demon Gods, every second saved here meant a slightly higher probability of Fisher surviving over there.

Consequently, she also called out loudly to Eliog behind her, only her voice carried an extremely panicked, crying tone,

"Demon God Eliog!! Hurry! What are you still waiting for!?"

"...Tch!"

Eliog's complexion was unpleasant, yet she had no time to settle scores with the Lord of Death and Cidi, who disappointed her at this moment.

Actually, truly looking into it, she also knew these two had no logical or emotional reason to help them. She couldn't harbor resentment just because things didn't go her way, but facing the crisis currently, possessing a bit of a grudge amidst the panic was also normal.

She didn't say anything either, just hastily turning back as Jasmine hoped, preparing to continue breaking Baimon's barrier.

And to the side, the expressionless Lord of Death leaning against the wall surface was currently gazing at the doorway Fisher vanished from. Looking at Eimhart lingering there spinning anxiously like a top, looking at Jasmine staying before the hole, striving with all her might to break the barrier despite her pale face, and looking at the taciturn Demon God Eliog suppressing her anger...

They were certainly all doing this for Fisher, that was a matter of course...

Only at this very moment, for some unknown reason, a trace of... envy towards Fisher suddenly surfaced within Holland's heart.

He suddenly couldn't recall. Couldn't recall why he left his hometown in the first place.

Was it because of starvation? Was it because he didn't want to watch the girl he loved marry a middle-aged man she didn't love? Was it to escape the ceaseless wars in the eastern part of the West Continent?

It had truly been too long. Yet he remembered the reason why he wanted to die deeply.

Because...

"Click..."

Silently, he took out a cigarette from his breast pocket and lit it. Following a moment of hesitation, he took a deep drag of the fragrance of tobacco, because the scent of saltpeter here was truly too unbearable.

Then, just as Eliog raised her hand preparing to continue breaking the barrier, he swiftly walked over. Clutching his own chest, he crouched opposite them. Reaching his hand through the thin veil entwined by the crimson mist and tobacco smoke, he spoke in a low voice,

"Demon God Eliog, quickly go. This Priest Lord and I will break the barrier."

Eliog froze slightly, following which the tail behind her swayed. She didn't say anything more, only casting a grateful glance at him. Subsequently, she abruptly stood up, dashing fiercely outside.

"Boom!"

Cidi remained sitting on the ground smiling. Following that, he merely blew a whistle, patted the dust off himself, and stood up,

"Alright, alright, I'll temporarily leave this place to you guys. I should also go reunite with my husband... Oh course, that's after everything ends. Farewell, two little guys."

"..."

Neither the Lord of Death nor Jasmine replied to him. Both of them merely placed their entire focus on the barrier before them.

As the Lord of Death brought out the Death Completion Manual bound to himself from his chest, under the lingering of that crimson mist, the undying Chaos within his body grew increasingly restless and uneasy, urged into action like an ulcer attached to the bone.

He could feel Hela of Death distancing further and further away from him, becoming increasingly resistant towards him as well...

The Lord of Death silently sighed, yet quickly cast it to the back of his mind, destroying Baimon's barrier alongside Jasmine.

At this moment, within the Gate of Victory of the Demon Dynasty that had already regained its silence, inside Eliog's Castle, a letter that had originally been resting very quietly on the bedside table had—some unknown time ago—fluttered down onto the floor like a gust of wind had passed.

And after landing on the ground, it still wouldn't rest. Upon that letter, the black text originally filled with words of gratitude towards Eliog became muddled and spread open bit by bit, like it had been smudged by water. Until the black ink stain grew larger and larger, expanding to be as wide as a puddle of water...

"Plop!"

In the next second, a hand entirely wrapped in bandages, looking like a withered stick, abruptly thrust out from within that ink stain. It firmly grasped the floorboards beside it, using it as a fulcrum to slowly crawl upwards piece by piece, taking his entire body crawling out from within that ink stain.

"Hoh... hoh... hoh..."

That figure covered in bandages continuously panted. Then suddenly opening his mouth, he spat out a feather pen made of metal from his stomach.

A strange, ethereal light circled that feather pen; it appeared to be some kind of Holy Artifact forged by an Angel.

"Hah... using this Holy Artifact is truly agonizing... but at least I'm in... excellent... excellent..."

This person was precisely the other undying human hiding and camping outside, Solomon.

"Alright, well then, where is that thing? The sigil symbolizing the First Pillar behind the gate..."

Solomon surveyed his surroundings, continuously sniffing with his sunken nose. Until quite a while later, he finally looked at one of the pillows casually tossed aside on the messy bed.

It's hidden right there!

His eyes lit up slightly. Following that, he hurriedly ran over to pick up that pillow, tearing it apart regardless of everything, sending all the goose feathers inside flying about randomly.

And at the very end, amidst those goose feathers, he finally saw a stone sigil emitting a crimson light, shaped similarly to a key.

"Excellent! I found it! This last one! This is the final one..."

Solomon was practically on the verge of shedding tears. As if holding some kind of treasure, he pressed it against his seemingly skin-and-bones chest. Subsequently, resembling a madman, he pushed open the gates of Eliog's palace, running outside, arriving outside Eliog's courtyard.

Looking at the wooden signboard on the ground outside that had already been tossed aside by Fisher, he stepped on it hatefully while gritting his teeth, subsequently saying,

"Hah, with so many Demon Gods in the Dynasty, you're the only one who had to lock up your palace with a barrier... didn't expect it, did you? I was still able to enter, haha... haha..."

"She locked the door merely to prevent her own nature from affecting others. Therefore, she set up a barrier on this door sign. Only her and those possessing her sigil are able to enter."

Solomon's joy suddenly came to an abrupt end. Hearing that smiling female voice echoing from behind, his entire body shuddered. Swifter than thought itself, his body suddenly knelt forcefully onto the ground, knocking his head on the floor. Aiming towards the entity behind him whose figure he hadn't clearly seen yet, his voice trembling, he said,

"L-Lord Baimon, I-I have already followed your instructions. For these thousands of years, aside from yours, I have entered all nine of the other gates and retrieved the First Pillar's sigils... I've truly worked very, very hard. Th-this is the final one, p-please inspect it... p-please... please inspect it."

"Oh, oh, I know. You've died tens of thousands of times for this, right. Although the palaces of the other Demon Gods didn't have entry-denial restrictions set up like Eliog's, the mechanisms, traps, and magic within were innumerable..."

Solomon prostrated himself on the ground, feeling the figure before him drawing ever closer. Not even daring to lift his head, he simply raised the sigil emitting the crimson light above with both hands, only smiling and saying,

"Please don't tease me... you should know, for an undying person like me... as long as I can die... I will do whatever you ask me to do..."

"True, because you have forgotten why you want to live. Because everything that kept you alive has already vanished like smoke. Because immortality is a curse; it allows you to return to the bodily state when you acquired it countless times, and it also permanently freezes your heart at that moment, rendering you unable to accept any new goals, any new relationships, any new existence..."

Solomon's body trembled involuntarily. He seemed to be weeping silently, yet because he appeared to have forgotten even the action of crying itself, he could only allow his body to quiver along with the despair and endless agony in his heart.

He said no more, only holding the sigil higher up. Then, in an almost pleading tone, he spoke subserviently to the figure before him,

"Lord Baimon... I have already completed the task you assigned... P-please sentence me to death..."

"No rush, Solomon."

"...D-do you... do you still need me to do anything else? Please state it, I will definitely go do it, absolutely anything! As long as... as long as I can..."

Solomon raised his head blankly. Entering his vision was precisely that pristine existence, barefoot yet floating slightly, never touching the ground.

She was draped in a pure, holy robe. Her appearance was peerlessly beautiful. The crown atop her head also radiated a gospel-like light leading humanity to heaven.

Her smile was benevolent and gentle, seemingly the sole hope in this world, the sole light...

Yet, she raised her index finger, smilingly interrupting the final reading of that word "death" Solomon was about to state. As if that word was far too inauspicious, as if that word was far too heartless and cruel.

"Shh..."

"Yes, yes, please instruct me..."

Solomon once again knocked his head onto the ground, but his hands, raised high holding the sigil to the First Pillar of Eliog's Gate of Victory, remained elevated, having never been lowered.

"I indeed still require you to do one final thing. But I swear on the name of 'Baimon', this is genuinely the final thing. Moreover, it is extremely simple."

"Yes, yes, please instruct me..."

Baimon not only didn't retract the sigil he offered, but conversely, like an angel, she gently plucked a sigil similarly radiating golden light from her hand, landing it softly upon Solomon's palm.

Sensing that cool sigil entering his hand, Solomon's frame also couldn't help but tremble slightly once again. And Baimon's voice also came forth again,

"Holding these sigils allows one to open their corresponding ten gates; this is a profound secret known only by the four Monarchs and the six First Pillars behind the gates. And your task is very simple as well. I want you to open these doors one by one. And then, you will be able to obtain what you desire... Can you do it, Solomon?"

Solomon's raised hands slowly clenched tight into fists. He inhaled a deep breath, seemingly trying to bury his face into the dirt. Several seconds later, he answered word by word,

"I swear to complete your bidding, Lord Baimon!"

"Buzz, buzz, buzz!"

Within the Gate of Carnal Desire, surrounded by pristine white sand and a pink atmosphere, as the violent tremors continuously affecting the entire Dynasty gradually calmed down, the doors to Cidi's fortress, which had been silent for who knows how long, uncontrollably and slowly opened. A terrifying aura of power leaked out from within like a tidal wave...

In the air, the scent of lust mixed with the odor of fear from those Little Demons and Demon Attendants was seized by the suddenly generated wisps of a light breeze and brought back to the front of Cidi's fortress, allowing the two figures who had just stepped out of the doorway to take a deep breath and experience the changes here.

The arrivals were precisely the two Demon Gods, Barbatos and Agreas, who had arrived here from the Surface via a Portal.

Agreas adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose, surveyed the surrounding environment, and then said to Barbatos,

"Cidi's soul has already left his true body; I don't smell the scent of his soul here."

"...Didn't you already know he had awakened the moment we were denied entry?"

"Hehe, then you're truly fortunate. That Fisher only likes ladies, not men. Otherwise, who knows what bad things Cidi might secretly do down here by not letting you in the door..."

"If you don't know how to speak, you can choose not to, Agreas."

"Hehe..."

Barbatos' expression was rather unsightly; even when speaking with Agreas, there was a hint of gnashing one's teeth.

No matter who encountered a situation like this—where you want to rush home but your partner locks the door, preventing you from returning—anyone would likely suspect that something was wrong inside. This held true for humans and other races, and as a Demon God, Barbatos couldn't escape this simple line of thought either.

It was just that he at least knew of the relationship between Cidi and Eliog. If Eliog had awakened, then it was highly probable that he had been awakened by Eliog.

Barbatos also wanted to quickly find Cidi, but before that, he and Agreas had an even more important matter to handle...

That Fischer Benavides had definitely come here as well, it was just unknown for what purpose he had come.

"Where is he, the Gate of Victory?"

Hearing Agreas' question, Barbatos said nothing. However, an invisible breeze around him abruptly spread out. That wind, akin to a messenger, swiftly traversed the areas behind the various gates, sensing any suspicious movements.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~"

A few seconds later, Barbatos gently squeezed his hand, and a wind that had sensed something flew back into his grasp. It took a spiral shape within his palm, seemingly telling him something,

"No, he's not in the Gate of Victory, he's in the Gate of Expression... Oh, no, even after sensing our aura, he still isn't running away. Instead, he is heading towards us..."

"..."

Agreas didn't respond, merely tapping the ground lightly with his toes. Following that, his entire person floated towards the direction of the Gate of Expression, with Barbatos quickly following behind.

Neither of them was in a hurry, because after Barbatos reported Fisher's location, the two of them simultaneously sensed that Fisher had stopped at the location leading from the Gate of Carnal Desire to the Gate of Expression, seemingly waiting for them.

Yet even so, this little distance was merely a matter of a few steps for the two of them, Eighteenth Tier Demon Gods. Not long after, they crossed this lengthy distance and arrived at the edge of the Gate of Carnal Desire.

From afar, the figures of the two walking amidst the magma and reefs entered the vision of Fisher, who stood at the entrance of the Gate of Expression. Even though they were nearly a kilometer away and the figures of those two Demon Gods were almost reduced to two small dots, they firmly gripped Fisher's gaze, as if intending to devour everything around them.

Facing two Mythical entities head-on right now placed a pressure on Fisher no less than when he directly faced Tao Gong in the Tree Continent.

However, back then he could rely on the sigil on his chest from Renee to attempt mutual destruction with her; now, Fisher could only rely on himself.

"Mr. Fisher."

Agreas' voice traveled from afar. Fisher clearly saw him adjust his glasses, as if his eyes had double vision under the illumination of the frames. He stood with his hands behind his back, stopping several hundred meters away with Barbatos, and greeted,

"Last time, I merely had a Familiar subordinate give you a greeting. I didn't have the opportunity to meet you in person, but I didn't expect you to directly come to our home as a guest... Did you come through Eliog's Portal?"

"..."

Fisher didn't reply, nor were Agreas and Barbatos annoyed. The next moment, they had crossed the kilometer and were almost in front of him, separated by merely tens of meters, and the expression on Agreas' face grew increasingly curious.

He pointed a finger at Fisher's chest. The fiery light of the magma beside them cast profound shadows on his face, brimming with keen interest, rendering his quiet "human" face somewhat eerie,

"I am also particularly curious. You possess Baimon's sigil, and looking closely now, the aura of Eliog's sigil beneath Baimon's hasn't completely disappeared either. Both of them gave you their precious sigils; given Eliog's temper, didn't she beat you to death?"

Fisher remained silent for a moment before looking at Agreas and saying with a smile,

"Almost."

"..."

Both Agreas and Barbatos froze slightly. It was Agreas who broke first, bursting into laughter. He shook his head, looking at Fisher and said,

"I don't know if that Dragon Queen would die of anger if she knew about these things. However, seeing that she is currently besieged yet you disregard her to come here and find Eliog shows that you don't care much for her either... I also don't know how you got entangled with Eliog in Saint-Nazareth, and how you got mixed up with that fellow Baimon."

"...Eliog and I also can't figure out how you two could be so easily deceived by Baimon. The Base she uses cannot possibly save you from the Mother Goddess's seal. The freedom and promises she gave you are fake. It's truly rare for you to have laid low in the weak human world for so long."

"Is that so..."

Even after Fisher finished saying all this, there was no change in expression on the faces of Agreas and Barbatos, as if they were completely unmoved.

Barbatos, moreover, directly shook his head and said,

"You are stalling for time. Or perhaps, do you think you can defeat us with the meager magic you secretly carved?"

"..."

Fisher remained silent. But directly behind him, within the massive tunnel connecting the Gate of Carnal Desire and the Gate of Knowledge, streaks of viscous shadow were continuously swirling upon the walls, carving kaleidoscopic magic crests within.

And all those shadows were connected to Fisher standing before the tunnel right now. Clearly, those were several Mythic pieces of magic formed from the Black Mud extending from within his body.

Agreas, clicking his tongue in wonder, scrutinized those Black Mud extensions behind him. Shortly after, he began to smile, looking at Fisher and saying,

"Since you're so smart and understand Baimon so well, then you should know that our target is precisely that red Dragon-kin of yours. And the reason we have waited for so long without striking directly at the enemy's heart to capture and kill her is that we are waiting for an opportunity..."

Yes, Fisher had always known that Raphaela was the key to unlocking the World-Ending Prophecy, and they were just waiting for the time when that prophecy arrived.

It was just that they probably didn't know the World-Ending Prophecy. So what was the timing Helaire told them about?

Thinking of this, an ominous premonition suddenly arose in Fisher's heart. Because the next moment, Agreas spoke softly,

"The opportunity we are waiting for is now. Waiting for the Chaos within your body to thrive and grow strong enough to snatch away the Blessing of Fafnir borne by that Dragon-kin..."

"!"

Fisher's pupils contracted slightly, but at this very moment, his body leaped backward defensively, sensing an unprecedented crisis in advance. He subconsciously retreated violently for a long distance, panting as he fell back into the tunnel, only to discover that the ground around Agreas had entire begun to twist, sprouting flesh and tentacles as if coming alive.

"Come, let us take you back. I'll let you reunite with your Dragon-kin girlfriend, and then our business will be concluded. I've also stayed with those human dregs long enough; it's time to end everything."

The tongue in Agreas' mouth extended slenderly from his lips, licking the corner of his mouth, as if some power within his body was also repelling the Chaos within Fisher at this moment, generating a confrontation.

That was the power of Life Chaos.

"Be cautious. Remember Fafnir's end. Strike with full force, lest long nights bring many dreams..."

"...I know."

Barbatos spoke softly, reminding Agreas to be mindful of past lessons.

Of course they still remembered the scene when Fafnir, having participated in the Mythic War and been injured by the God of Destruction from the Ocean, faced the Soul Disaster upon returning to the Dragon Court.

Although his defeat was directly caused by the sheer power of the Chaos and his poor state due to injuries, they all knew that if the Dragon God had been more cautious and hadn't initially underestimated the disaster caused by a single transferred person, he would have had a high probability of surviving at least.

The death of the World Tree due to Chaos was widely known. However, Fafnir conceitedly believed it was because he had stolen its roots that led to her inability to match the Chaos. His conceit placed his own power foremost, thereby ignoring the power of Chaos itself.

So much so that later, when he heard Tao Gong could rival the Chain of Heaven by relying on that power, he paid it no mind, because when he went to the Tree Continent, Tao Gong had already been slain by a mysterious person using a strange power.

Repeated neglect finally subjected Fafnir to a heavy toll. Not only did he vanish into the long river of history because of it, but even everything his descendants had created was reduced to nothing.

Facing the thriving Chaos on Fisher at this moment, Agreas and Barbatos simultaneously assumed combat stances. Their completely unforgiving demeanor increased the pressure on Fisher significantly, as if being pursued once again by Hela's Death.

Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, yet he calmly retreated fiercely into the cave while simultaneously calling out urgently to Cupid in his mind, having the Black Mud return to his body while activating the carved Mythic magic.

"Buzz, buzz, buzz!"

"Self-created Mythic Magic, Dream and Soul Dual-Circle Head Lethal Magic Number One."

Inside the cave, as Fisher retreated, two dream-like Circle Heads abruptly exploded with a bang, violently swallowing everything outside akin to a black hole.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

Fisher had already retreated fiercely all the way into the area of the Gate of Expression. Raising his eyes, the massive tunnel connecting the Gate of Carnal Desire to this place had been completely engulfed by multicolored Soul Clouds, constantly generating a terrifying suction force.

"Swoosh!"

But the very next second, an arrow wrapped in a storm forcefully pierced through all the magic, heading straight for Fisher's face.

The violent wind blew his black hair into a mess. He stomped fiercely on the ground, spinning seven hundred and twenty degrees mid-air like a top. Yet just as he turned around to face the ground, a terrifying shadow instantly appeared before him; it was precisely the grinning Agreas.

He still wore the seemingly bookish black-rimmed glasses, with a petite figure, but his two hands seemed spurred by the power of Life Chaos, turning fast as thunder. One high and one low, they targeted Fisher's spine and lower body.

And amidst the smoke and dust ahead, there was also Barbatos rushing over, wielding his bow and arrows.

They wanted to knock him unconscious, but didn't want to kill him outright.

Fisher read their intentions at this moment, because he could feel that they hadn't struck to kill with full force, unlike Tao Gong back then striking with all her might to guarantee their deaths.

This could be an opportunity to delay for more time.

In this split second, Fisher's brain also operated at its limit, his train of thought becoming extremely clear.

"Cupid!"

He was already accustomed to viewing the Black Mud within his mind as a separate entity. Although fundamentally it was a part of himself, Fisher discovered this helped him suppress the madness brought by the Black Mud. By temporarily separating it from himself, the one who was mad temporarily was it, not his present self who urgently needed rationality.

While he summoned the Consciousness Abyss within his body, wrapping it around his hands to block Agreas' attacks, simultaneously during combat, he also paid attention to another Mythic magic carved within the cave, using it to obstruct Barbatos' advance.

"Self-created Mythic Magic, Space and Time (Destiny) Dual-Circle Head Magic."

"Thud, thud, thud!"

Therefore, in the next second, the space and time in the cave over there began to twist, while mid-air, Fisher, wrapped in Black Mud, pushed back against Agreas.

Agreas practically instantly saw through the nature of that Black Mud. Knowing that thing would drain the souls of other entities, she naturally wouldn't foolishly make contact with it. Thus, beneath Fisher's astonished gaze, her arms instantly twisted, transforming into countless thick tentacles possessing Mythic attributes.

This was the power of Life Chaos!

"Thud, thud, thud!"

Those tentacles acted like spears, like whips, moving even faster than the Black Mud controlled by Fisher's consciousness. They fiercely bypassed it and whipped his body. In an instant, the sounds of bone fracturing and flesh and blood exploding erupted across Fisher's body.

That intense agony made even his soul tremble uncontrollably, yet his rationality instantly made the most sensible decision for him. He was seen wrapping his body in Black Mud instantly, then spinning away from Agreas' attack, tumbling several times mid-air before smashing against the edge of a cliff hundreds of meters away.

"Cough, cough!"

Fisher lay on the ground, his flesh having been whipped open by Agreas' tentacles forming bloody holes the size of bowls. He could only cover those wounds with Black Mud, subsequently raising his eyes to look in Agreas' direction.

She stood in place, her hands gradually returning from tentacles to their original form. After that, she swept a glance at Barbatos, who was slowly walking out of that Mythic magic behind her, and then smiled at Fisher, saying,

"Your train of thought is quite clear... How is it? Better than that human who stole the knowledge of the Treasure from me? She tried with all her might to obtain the method of entering the Mythic state using Life Chaos from me. I wonder if her wish was fulfilled before she died..."

Barbatos walked up to her side, smoothing down his robes that had been messed up by the Mythic magic. Looking at Fisher on the ground, he said,

"Hurry up, he shou—wait, your face..."

Before Barbatos could finish his words, his peripheral vision suddenly landed on Agreas' face. To his sudden surprise, she hadn't noticed at all that a tiny wisp of Black Mud was swelling on her skin.

It was only because that Black Mud hadn't extracted her soul that Agreas hadn't noticed it momentarily. Under Barbatos' slightly stunned gaze, that Black Mud on Agreas' face shaped into an extremely minuscule and miniature magic crest...

Barbatos turned to look at Fisher, only to see him gritting his teeth, seemingly doing his utmost to manipulate that Black Mud to form magic.

But Barbatos' warning came too late, because the moment he spoke, that Black Mud had already formed a Dual-Circle Head magic comprised of [Lightning] and [Destruction].

"Tenth-Circle Dual-Circle Head Magic, Killing Dragonspear!"

"Wha—"

Agreas looked at Barbatos. But the next second, a massive thunder spear capable of piercing the heavens ruptured fiercely from the tiny speck on her cheek, instantly engulfing her entire head and wiping it out completely.

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!"

Barbatos raised the robe on his arm and shielded himself from Agreas' exploding head and half of her torso. The fragments and bloody flesh splattered onto his clothes with a "pitter-patter," soaking his robes like rain...

"Thud!"

The next moment, Agreas, whose head had been blasted away by magic, collapsed powerlessly onto the ground, rendering Barbatos somewhat speechless as well.

"Cough, cough..."

Of course Fisher knew this couldn't kill Agreas, but he had to delay for time as much as possible. Yet as he lay prone on the ground, watching Barbatos make no further moves in the distance, while Agreas' mutilated corpse lying on the ground genuinely showed not the slightest bit of life left.

This scenario still caused Fisher to be momentarily stunned, subconsciously producing the illusion of "Did I really kill Agreas?"

But an illusion was an illusion after all. Because the very next second, he felt a sudden pang of pain at his neck.

He looked down, only to abruptly find that the area where his collarbone connected to his neck on his chest was swelling slightly, as if a tumor had grown in the subcutaneous blood vessels. Moreover, it was growing rapidly, increasing from less than a centimeter initially to twenty or thirty centimeters in an instant.

He clutched his neck in agony, yet it was still difficult to prevent the meaty tumor from growing larger and larger, until the next moment when not even flesh, blood, and skin could contain it...

"Ugh!"

"Bang!!"

Fisher's pupils contracted violently, and his eyes widened to an unprecedented degree, all displaying the agony he was enduring at this moment to the outside. Immediately after, the massive fleshy tumor on his neck swelled fiercely, bursting forth with a blood mist up to six or seven meters high, completely blowing apart half of Fisher's neck along with his right arm and lowers abdomen.

"Squish!"

He collapsed on the ground with a stiff expression. And on his body, that petite figure completely covered in his fresh blood burst from within his body like an alien. Sticking to his side, he stood there with a hint of a smile, looking down at Fisher lying motionless in a pool of blood with widened pupils.

"...Not a bad idea. If it were an Eighteenth Tier guy who was careless, they might have fallen for your trick. It's just a pity that being enemies with us is still too difficult for you. Let's go. We will take you to see your Dragon-kin girl again. Who knows if she'll feel a heart-wrenching sensation upon seeing your miserable state..."

"Rumble!"

Just at this moment, a dense scent of saltpeter rushed over violently. A bright crimson light akin to a meteor surged from a distance, crashing straight towards Agreas.

Agreas froze slightly. Sensing a barrage of punches and kicks coming from within that crimson meteor, he retreated while raising his hands, blocking an elbow strike horizontally with his left arm, and deflecting two kicks with his right, incidentally withdrawing from the area around Fisher.

"..."

Compared to the crimson meteor's attack, it seemed much more like Agreas had voluntarily retreated. However, his original expression carrying a bloody smile gradually receded with the arrival of the person before him until it turned into a mere smile.

Only to see standing before Fisher at this moment was precisely that Demon God Eliog, with swaying, explosive fireballs around her.

Agreas lowered his combat stance slightly, then patted the arm kicked by Eliog and said with a smile,

"If it were the true body of Eliog, I definitely wouldn't be able to defend against this attack infused with exquisite technique... It's just a pity that you are currently in an out-of-body state. Unable to support you in exerting your combat skills, it allows my eyes to keep up as well..."

Eliog, however, ignored Agreas. Instead, she cast a worried gaze back at Fisher collapsed in the pool of blood behind her. Unknown whether it was due to sensing Eliog's gaze, his body, originally stiff as iron, began trembling slightly bit by bit, proving he was still alive.

Eliog couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. Only after exchanging a glance with him did she lower her combat stance, looking at Agreas and Barbatos whom she hadn't seen for a long time.

Agreas watched Eliog turn back to care for Fisher. In the end, he also couldn't help but let out a self-deprecating laugh, saying,

"It seems the one feeling heart-wrenching isn't that Dragon-kin, but rather my close friend..."

Barbatos also gently leaped to the front. Looking at Eliog blocking the way in front of Fisher, he pondered for a moment before speaking up,

"Don't be anxious, Eliog. We are not enemies, nor is he what we need... We only temporarily need him to help us seize the Blessing upon that Dragon-kin. After that, he will still be alive and still belong to you.

"Furthermore, after that Blessing is taken away, that Dragon-kin will also disappear as a result. Not only will you have one less entity standing between you and him, but we can all regain our freedom.

"Why not go ahead with it, Eliog?"

"Why not go ahead with it, Eliog?"

Facing Barbatos' question, Eliog's refusal came decisively. She merely shook her head and said,

"Compared to that whatever Dragon-kin, Baimon is the thorn in my eye and the flesh-pricking needle, awooo. The very thought of doing what she wants makes me uncomfortable all over... Moreover, it's quite beyond my expectation that you guys would actually believe Baimon's nonsense without a doubt.

"She fundamentally never released you guys at all. She merely used the Base of Spirit World Contamination formed by Northern Territory Phoenixes to temporarily break you free from that False God's seal. Fundamentally speaking, you never escaped the cage from beginning to end, let alone that Fafnir's Blessing or whatever... She is utilizing you guys to help her achieve certain goals, yet you're helping her scheme while being sold out, and you want to use this to persuade me?"

The same words spoken by Fisher would clearly not be believed by Barbatos and Agreas, but since they were spoken by Eliog at this moment, they fell into a brief contemplation.

Behind them, Fisher, clutching his injured body, slowly sat up. He looked down at the fresh blood on his hands, feeling his wounds healing rapidly while the murmurs in his ears grew increasingly dense.

However, he still forced himself to stand up and arrived at the side of Eliog, who was confronting the two Demon Gods. His attention, though, constantly rested behind them, in the territory within the Gate of Knowledge.

He was waiting for Jasmine and the Lord of Death to accelerate and complete breaking Helaire's barrier sealing the Base.

Upon hearing this, Agreas pondered for a moment but shook his head. Soon, with a smile, he said,

"You speak with such conviction, but I feel, Eliog, couldn't it be that you've been deceived by this glib-tongued human before you?"

"?"

Ignoring Eliog's question, Agreas took a step forward and extended a fist towards Eliog. The eyes hidden beneath his glasses seemed to erupt with a blazing pillar of fire.

"We indeed know Baimon used the Base to release us, and we also know Baimon might be utilizing us to accomplish something. But only regarding breaking the seal upon us, we can be certain it's something Baimon practically achieved... You should know my adaptability to entirely new power is very strong, which is why I could comprehend that lunatic Tao's chaotic power in a very short time. Therefore, I also have deep research into the seal placed by that False God...

"I am currently certain that the seals on Barbatos and myself have completely vanished. In other words, we are entirely free right now."

Saying so, Agreas gave a mocking laugh. Raising his hand to point at Fisher beside Eliog, he continued,

"The power of the Base is of course incomplete, which is why it could only release the two of us. Therefore, we need the Blessing comparable to a True God on that Dragon-kin's body to liberate our entire race. Eliog, this human has merely hit a dead end, so he fabricated lies to gain your support. He has a deep relationship with Baimon, so of course he knows how to provoke your competitive nature. That's why he came looking for you bearing Baimon's sigil, making you fight Baimon for his sake. He's fundamentally not thinking of you; from start to finish, he has only been thinking of that Dragon-kin woman of his...

"Let me ask you, if you help him like this, what kind of end will we meet? He is a human, a usurper living in an era of withering myth. Without us, he could very well rely on this chaotic Mythic power to do anything he desires here. Simply taking yourself as an example, in your current out-of-body state, what can you accomplish? I am your true friend. I am the one who will help you break free from the cage. At that time, whatever you want to do, won't you be able to do it?

"Let alone that this scheming, lowly man's current deception of you has been seen through by me; even if you still like him at that time, I am also willing to help you fight Baimon. Regarding the women around him, the only ones requiring a bit of attention are Baimon and that God of Destruction's daughter. But now that God of Destruction is also hiding at the bottom of the sea, refusing to come out—presumably her old injuries haven't healed—when our entire race emerges into the world, what can she do?! When the time comes, I'll tie him up and give him to you, letting you play with him every single day. Isn't that fine?!"

Barbatos cast a glance at Agreas, wondering if he wanted to say, "Don't include me when you boast." That God of Destruction simply wasn't coming out of the ocean, not dead.

As for Fisher, he blinked even more, unclear why Agreas would speculate on him with such extreme malice.

Although they were enemies, they shouldn't have seen or understood much about each other, right? Why, from your mouth, Agreas, had I, Fisher, become such a scumbag who utilized women at any cost?

But now wasn't the time to care about his right to reputation and fight against Agreas' slander. His true focus lay on Agreas saying, "They genuinely escaped the seal."

This intelligence had been imparted to Fisher by the Lord of Fate. Moreover, she possessed an extremely profound understanding of the Mother Goddess's power, which was why she had been extremely certain when stating that the Base couldn't possibly help them escape the seal.

The likelihood of her deceiving Fisher was minute. Her relationship with Asuka Karasawa was unusual, and since she already knew of the connection between Fisher and Asuka Karasawa, and still needed him to help search for Asuka, how could she possibly tell an unfathomable lie at this juncture?

Then, could someone like her—a contemporary of Asuka Karasawa and a First-Generation Transferred Person who hadn't died even now—have misjudged the Mother Goddess's seal?

Upon hearing this, Eliog frowned. Looking at Agreas, she said,

"Both you and I know the Mother Goddess's seal was placed upon us all entirely. Where does the logic of the two of you being free while we're remain trapped in the seal come from?"

"But this is the truth, Eliog. The Base and the seal both originate from different powers of Chaos. You also know that Chaos repels Chaos. Perhaps the Base can destroy the rules of that False God's seal? If not the Base, do you think it's Baimon? Does she have universe-spanning abilities to effortlessly surpass the power and rules of a True God to singly pluck the two of us out?"

Eliog shut her mouth. Of course she wouldn't easily believe Agreas' evaluation of Fisher. She was willing to believe that Fisher was speaking the truth, but at this moment, the conversation reaching this point also meant the negotiations between the two sides had completely broken down.

Fisher exhaled a long breath, unable to stop himself from pondering the worst of the worst-case scenarios—the situation where what they said was true.

Simultaneously, he looked at the two Demon Gods before him and asked,

"I understand. Your original plan was to use the Chaos on my body to seize the Blessing related to the Dragon God on Raphaela, utilizing it to release the demons... Moreover, according to what you said, Raphaela will die afterwards, correct?"

"What, changed your mind now? Great, come with us to see her. It'll even give you guys a chance to properly say your goodbyes... anyway, you have so many women, losing one won't really matter, right?"

"..."

Fisher dangerously narrowed his eyes. Beneath the clothes soaked thoroughly in fresh blood, it felt like something invisible was squirming. He could only feel the chaotic aura within his body continuously swelling.

He looked at Eliog beside him, and Eliog also muttered,

"Hope that unintelligent-looking little Whale-kin girl can adapt to circumstances..."

"So to speak, you guys still intend to resist?"

"Yeah, got a problem with that?"

Agreas adjusted the glasses before his forehead, subsequently laughing helplessly and shaking his head,

"Eliog, you truly are... quite different from before."

"Yeah, awooo. But you're still the same as before. Therefore, you will never understand why I must remain in eternal slumber, nor will you understand why I must overcome my own nature. Because you never care about other existences. Merely to satisfy your nature, you didn't hesitate to extend a butcher's knife towards Tao, who was bitterly supporting our entire race... you didn't hesitate to use countless lives to experiment with the knowledge in your mind... It was precisely because we all indulged in depravity back then that our entire race was dragged into that war, ending up in our current state."

"..."

Agreas merely listened, offering no response whatsoever. Perhaps a demon like him, who always indulged his nature, was inherently incapable of comprehending the concept of "restraint". Thus, even though he was adept at making friends, he could never truly enter their hearts.

Barbatos was like this, Cidi was like this, and Eliog was like this...

Barbatos understood Eliog's words, but he was doing this to save Cidi from the eternal cage. Therefore, at this moment, he didn't say anything else, merely asking a single question in the end,

"By the way, Cidi has awakened. Was he with you guys just now?"

"Relax, your partner didn't help us. Just now, I was the one who threatened him to stop you from entering. He doesn't want to get involved; you'll see him after this is over..."

Barbatos nodded in satisfaction, uttering a "thanks". Following that, he abruptly raised the longbow in his hand. Instantly, an arrow akin to the wind appeared on the bowstring, carved entirely with runes used for teleportation.

He had dismantled one of Cidi's Portals, intending to use it now.

"Whoosh!"

As that arrow was fired, it abruptly shot into the air and sank into the stone wall. A spatial rift enveloped by a violent storm was slowly torn open bit by bit, gradually revealing the gray, rain-curtained sky outside.

"Kill them!"

"Boom!"

"Look quickly, what is that?"

"A storm is brewing!!"

Under their previous orders, the Human Allied Army outside was launching a general offensive against the Red Dragon Court of the Southern Branch Mountain Range. However, it was evident that both Barbatos and Agreas cared not for this war. It was just that the more chaotic the external situation currently, the better, because that Dragon Queen was bound to personally lead a team into combat...

And the roaring gale rushing out of the ground split into countless streams instantly after leaving the Portal, spreading out. Akin to a meat grinder, it tore apart the formations of both sides, thoroughly transforming the battlefield into hell.

Only after accomplishing all this did Barbatos look expressionlessly at Eliog and Fisher before him, saying to Agreas,

"The Portal has been opened; now, we just need to take him to that Dragon-kin."

"..."

Two Eighteenth-Tiers against one Fourteenth-Tier and one Fifteenth-Tier. Even if the Chaos on Fisher's body right now was growing increasingly dense, they still had no need to pay it any mind.

Raphaela, was dead for sure today.

"Hurry! Hurry!"

At the exact same time, within Baimon's palace, sensing the tremors transmitted from the battle above, Eimhart was so anxious he wished he could sprout hands and feet to personally assist Jasmine and the Lord of Death in dismantling that damn barrier.

Baimon! You truly are... you truly are...

You truly dying a thousand times isn't enough!

He cursed Baimon in his heart, not understanding why she had to design this barrier to be so thick. But the next second, driven by the full power of Jasmine and the Lord of Death, the fissures on the barrier's walls multiplied, and the crimson light leaking from within grew ever brighter.

"It's out! Quick, quickly seal those two Demon Gods back inside! Hurry, otherwise Fisher and the others..."

Eimhart flew excitedly towards the gradually dissolving barrier. Watching that formless entity bearing an odd red light slowly drift upwards from below, at that moment, everyone present seemed to hear an unknown murmur, as if some terrifying power had set its sights on them.

Both the Lord of Death and Jasmine's complexions were extremely pale, but upon hearing Eimhart's reminder, the Lord of Death still shook off the groggy feeling in his head, wanting to hurry up and have the Base seal those two demons back inside.

But the next second, a problem arose.

How exactly was this Base supposed to be used? It was merely exposed right now; did they have to smash it to pieces?

"How the hell do you make this thing seal those two Demon Gods away?"

He turned back to look at the excited Eimhart, not expecting this question to abruptly stump him. Even given the great Sir Book Artifact's repository of knowledge, he was unclear on the specific answer to this question.

"I... I don't know."

"...I-I'll try?"

Just then, Jasmine stared blankly at the crimson Base before her. Following closely, she added,

"I kind of feel like this Base wants to... say something to me?"

"Huh? Don't... don't listen to it! If Fisher comes back to see you turned into a lump of meat by the Base, I... I won't have any way to explain!"

But Jasmine had no time to hesitate. The next moment, she gritted her teeth and resolutely extended her hand towards that Base, making contact with it.

In an instant, an indescribably feeling of agony, frigidity, and isolation welled up in Jasmine's heart.

"Professor Fisher..."

She momentarily couldn't distinguish whether this call was an auditory hallucination she heard or something she had actually voiced. Because the moment she came into contact with it, Jasmine's consciousness was yanked by it, sensing its overwhelming power.

The Mana Circuits on Jasmine's body instantly lit up, acting as a guiding beacon pulling the crimson Base closer to her. And exactly at the same time, she also sensed the Base's function...

"No... that's not right..."

Yet after temporarily gaining the ability to grasp and utilize the Base, Jasmine's complexion grew increasingly pale. She opened her eyes, looking incredulously at the Base in her hands, and murmured,

"I... I didn't feel it taking effect..."

"Didn't take effect, what does that mean? Does it mean this Base is fake? Can it not be interrupted by us?"

"No, no, Sir Book Artifact! Its power is indeed very strong, and it can indeed temporarily nullify the Mother Goddess's seal, precisely as we deduced earlier... But what I mean is, I didn't feel it removing any entity's seal. It didn't establish a connection with anything, and I also cannot sense that Agreas and Barbatos's seals still exist..."

Jasmine's hand holding the Base grew increasingly icy and trembling, and the pupils of the Lord of Death and Eimhart beside her also shrank smaller and smaller, clearly comprehending Jasmine's meaning,

"That is to say..."

"That is to say, Barbatos and Agreas truly escaped from the Mother Goddess's seal... It is impossible to use the Base to seal them back... but I don't know how they achieved it. I..."

Eimhart's eyes widened. As if struck by lightning, he slumped powerlessly onto the ground, as if the golden light radiating from his entire book body had dimmed,

"It's over... it's over... Baimon, ugh, you damn fellow... sigh, so this was waiting here all along, using such an insidious ploy to... Fisher, ahhh! How am I supposed to live without you?! Those are two Eighteenth-Tier beings that ran out. Them going is like throwing a meat bun at a dog; I fear there won't even be scraps left now!!

"Ahhhhh! Baimon! You truly deserve to die! Give my Fisher back!!! Baimon, wuwuwuwu!"

The Lord of Death also furrowed his brows, sensing the increasingly restless power above and worrying for the recently departed Fisher and Eliog.

Knowing the situation at hand was critical, Jasmine closed her eyes, her entire body trembling like a sieve. But the very next moment, she suddenly thought of something and hurriedly spoke up,

"Wait, wait... perhaps there's still a way..."

"There's no chance, wuwuwu, Fisher has definitely already been... by that fellow Baimon... wuuahhhh Fisher!"

Jasmine ignored the emotionally collapsed Eimhart, merely allowing her consciousness to continually sink alongside the Base. That power continuously swept across everything within the Dynasty, spreading all the way until it reached the territory of the Gate of Victory...

At an edge of the Gate of Victory, there stood a castle inhabited by the true body of the Demon God named "Eliog".

"Demon God Eliog... we can only leave it all up to you, Professor Fisher..."

Jasmine gritted her teeth, channeling the Base's power into that place she sensed.

At this moment, within the territory of the Gate of Victory, it felt as if everything had been dyed in a layer of crimson. Under that crimson contamination, the dense "∞" symbols hovering above the magma diminished bit by bit, causing the certain entity they were restraining to struggle increasingly violently...

Within Eliog's Castle, amidst the eerie gloom, a warm and scorching brilliance gradually blanketed the floor and the bed, much like a fireplace being lit.

Those shattered armors and weapons hung on the walls and weapon racks began to sway uncontrollably. And before them, that originally tiny, rope-thin pillar of fire danced little by little.

It flickered, it roared, until that light grew ever brighter, until that flame grew ever more intense, until it illuminated everything within the castle.

"Crash!"

"Swoosh!"

Within the Gate of Victory, countless Little Demons began to tear at each other uncontrollably. Without any apparent reason, they attacked each other with their sharpest claws and fangs, spilling their blood onto the reefs on the ground and into the magma...

The crisp sound of blood hitting the ground, the hissing of it evaporating upon entry into the magma, accompanied by the roars of strife echoed in succession... Akin to an alarm clock ringing in the morning, gradually awakening that flickering, ever-expanding pillar of fire.

"Splash, splash, splash!"

In the mid-air above the Gate of Knowledge, as Barbatos opened the Portal leading to the Surface, the torrential rain of the Southern Continent instantly poured down from above. However, it quickly evaporated into water vapor amidst the high-temperature flames of the Dynasty, instantly transforming into a dream-like place akin to Yunmeng Marsh.

"Rumble!"

"Eliog!"

And within the vaporizing steam, a figure seemed to be whipped away by a massive force, violently piercing through the pitch-black reefs and magma, ultimately leaving behind an incomparably huge crater where it landed.

From out of that deep crater, Eliog's arrow-shaped tail protruded straight out and swayed slightly. Her body, however, struggled somewhat to rise. The fiery snake in her eyes continuously twisted as she looked towards Barbatos, who was about to strike again.

He wanted to directly beat her current self until she could no longer participate in the battle. But halfway through his flight, a terrifying suction force radiated from the side. Following closely, a piece of Dual-Circle Head Magic comprised of Destruction and Thunder surged over, interrupting Barbatos' path of advance through the air.

Subsequently, Barbatos ignored Eliog and turned back to join Agreas in besieging Fisher.

It hadn't even been half a minute since the battle commenced, yet the scales of victory had tipped unreservedly towards Agreas's side. And this was under the condition that the opposition hadn't even exerted their full power yet.

The reason why Agreas and Barbatos hadn't fully utilized their complete power and instead continued to entangle with Fisher was very simple: they seemingly still wanted to continuously stimulate the growth of the chaotic power within Fisher's body through combat.

Gritting her teeth, Eliog watched Fisher struggling to deal with the two Demon Gods amidst the water vapor, and a feeling of vexation suddenly arose within her heart.

She knew that Whale-kin girl coming here seemed to be meant specifically to watch over Fisher, worried he would utilize dangerous power in moments of crisis. As a Demon God, Eliog knew that so-called "dangerous power" was precisely the Chaos hidden within Fisher's body.

But now, she could only watch helplessly as Fisher's control over that Chaos was eroded bit by bit during the battle, becoming increasingly evident, urgently awaiting to bloom.

They wanted to use that blossomed power to seize the Blessing borne by that Dragon-kin.

Gritting her teeth, Eliog once again clutched her body and charged over, transforming into a shooting star in an attempt to divide the battlefield. But the two Demon Gods wouldn't let her have her way. With a cold face, Barbatos drew his longbow and aimed it at Eliog, firing an arrow. The force was so immense and the speed so fast that even though her combat instincts had perceived it, and even if she fully urged her current power, she was still not fast enough to escape its trajectory. She could only watch helplessly as that arrow bit by bit rushed towards her skin.

"Whoosh!"

But exactly at this moment, from behind her, Fisher's powerful large hand abruptly grabbed her shoulder. As he pulled her back, his entire person instantly surpassed the retreating Eliog to face the incoming arrow in her stead.

"Clang! Clang!"

Fisher had merely raised his hand to repel the arrow enveloped in a violent gale when two chunks of flesh and blood instantly exploded on his neck, as if countless branches had grown out from within his body. Consequently, his head and chest were completely covered in plants. Yet Fisher's reaction was extremely swift. With life and death at stake at this moment, without any hesitation, he gritted his teeth, reached his hands into his own body, and with the force of thunder, forcefully uprooted those branches from his flesh and blood one by one.

"Drip, drip..."

His blood spurted all over the ground, and even half his face was occupied by broken flesh and blood. But the very next moment, he still raised the magic formed from Black Mud in his hand, intending to smash it towards the Portal in the sky to close the Portal that could pull Raphaela in.

"Fisher!"

"How truly interesting, this human! Being so cruel to oneself doesn't matter; no wonder Eliog fancied you. However, why not use the Chaos that has already grown restless within your body to show me a bit more of your new power? Who knows, maybe I'll show some mercy!!"

Not only did Agreas watch that fearsome combat stance and swift reaction with appreciation, but Eliog behind him was even more terrified, wanting to reach out to help him. But anyone with a discerning eye could see that her Fourteenth-Tier abilities were of absolutely no use on this battlefield right now.

The current situation was virtually equivalent to Fisher fighting alone against two Eighteenth-Tier Demon Gods.

"..."

Yet just as he raised his hand, Barbatos drew his bow towards Fisher and Eliog. Countless arrows carrying a violent gale arrived in an instant, knocking Eliog back and instantly piercing through Fisher's four limbs—

"Puchi!"

Fisher's pupils contracted slightly, and his entire person was uncontrollably blasted away by the immense force, falling to his knees. He had just wanted to rise and continue destroying the Portal in the sky, only to discover that the arrows had already pierced through his two calves and inserted into the ground, locking him in place.

But...

That Portal...

Raphaela!

Only at this moment did the pain caused by these severe injuries abruptly shoot into his soul. He coughed violently, and a mouthful of fresh blood splattered onto the ground, squirming as if it possessed life.

Amidst the countless smoke and dust ahead, the shadows of the two Demon Gods followed like shadows, much like Grim Reapers sealed here, approaching Fisher.

Half of Fisher's face was completely covered in fresh blood. Looking behind him with his only remaining eye—which could also barely open and was therefore hidden within a patch of blood-red—he saw Eliog locked down by the array of arrows holding her four limbs.

It was just that Eliog was different from him. The arrows fired at her did not sink into her body; they only materialized as a cage, pinning her to the ground, unable to move.

Those two had no ill intentions towards Eliog, and moreover had past ties with her. They only wanted to target Fisher.

"That's about enough. Take him to the Surface, Agreas."

"Not yet, just a little bit more..."

Behind them, Agreas and Barbatos' thoughts were obvious at a glance, nor did they show any intention of hiding them from Fisher. But seeing Eliog looking at him with wide open eyes from behind, unharmed, Fisher still unconsciously let out a sigh of relief.

Subsequently, his head drooped down a little, and the fresh blood on his body dripped down bit by bit. He didn't know if it was an illusion, but it seemed that in his increasingly groggy gaze, the blood also began to turn pitch-black.

Was time still not enough?

Had the seal of that Base still not been destroyed?

Gritting her teeth, Eliog wanted to remove the arrows blanketing her body, but currently lacking a Mythic-tier rank, she simply couldn't break free.

The disparity between Mythic and non-Mythic was too great; it was akin to a dimensional strike, much less that they were two Eighteenth-Tier beings. Escaping was literally an incredible story.

But under her incredulous and anxious gaze, Fisher merely cast her a glance. Following that, he inhaled deeply, suddenly reached out and grabbed Barbatos' arrows piercing through his calves, and forcefully yanked them out. Having done so, he stood back up, standing in front of Eliog.

However, at this moment, in Eliog's eyes, the fresh blood flowing out of Fisher's body was no longer bright red. Instead, it was drops of viscous, unnamed black mud, pitch-black like petroleum. It brimmed with dense Chaos, seemingly dragging the souls of all existences around closer to it.

Even so, Fisher still wished to approach the Portal above to destroy that sole passage that could lead to the world above.

He wanted to destroy that passage leading directly to Raphaela on the Surface. That way, even if he couldn't control the Chaos within his body and perished, the Chaos still wouldn't endanger Raphaela. However, Eliog knew that once a Portal was opened, it could not be closed until the being opening it finished entering or gave up on entering...

In other words, if Barbatos was unwilling, no matter how much futile effort Fisher put in, he couldn't close that door.

Yet seeing Fisher perform futile efforts time and again to sever the potential crisis that Dragon-kin might face, the ground-bound Eliog only felt increasingly enraged. It was as if a cluster of flames was dancing within her, becoming increasingly fierce.

She suddenly thought of things from a very, very long time ago, thought of those living beings who fought each other and died uncontrollably under the influence of her own nature.

She had watched helplessly as her attendants killed their own children and husbands merely to prove their sole devotion to her, worried they would seize the blessing Demon God Eliog had bestowed upon them...

She had watched helplessly as warriors she appreciated fought their brothers to steal their parents' property, using poison and sneak attacks to kill their brother's entire family, and then laughing as they proclaimed their victory to Demon God Eliog...

Perhaps Eliog hadn't thought about avoidance back then. After all, how could a competitive existence like her tolerate a "nature" opponent she couldn't defeat?

But why had she ultimately adopted the evasive method of hiding away to sleep in response?

Because in the struggle against her nature, she realized that moving towards victory required a price. The more competitively she wished to conquer her nature, the stronger her nature became due to that competitiveness, thereby provoking wars, provoking slaughter...

Therefore, for an extended period, she had always set aside any conflicts, taking lightly any reasons that might trigger conflicts. Even if it was prayers directed at her, even if it was humiliation leveled at her, even if she was forgotten by her... she could take it all lightly.

Because of the detriments of strife, she forgot she needed to strive, yet she abruptly beheld here and now the reason why she formerly loved strife so much.

She loved seeing the appearance of warriors rising in righteous anger to protect their homes and families, stopping foreign enemies regardless of all else; she loved seeing the appearance of people enduring humiliation for a greater purpose, never giving up as they fought for their dreams; she loved seeing the appearance of the weak not retreating before strong enemies, issuing challenges time and again...

Eliog clenched the prison of arrows built like a steel cage. Gritting her teeth, she panted urgently, and rumbling sounds echoing the explosion of magma resounded incessantly from her chest cavity.

"Buzz! Roar!"

"Agreas!!! Barbatos!!!"

"Rip!"

Right at this moment, precisely when Fisher's battle was growing increasingly difficult, precisely when his body was becoming increasingly riddled with holes, a bizarre pulse abruptly transmitted from the direction of the Gate of Knowledge, sounding like something collapsing into nothingness.

It was the barrier containing Baimon's Base below that was destroyed!

Covered in wounds and seemingly soaked in blood, Fisher fell to one knee. There was a hint of elation on his face, but the very next second, that feeling of elation came to an abrupt end. Because he sensed the power of the Base, yet the two mighty entities before him still stood perfectly intact in place.

Could it be that Jasmine and the others were unable to utilize that Base to seal them back?

Or perhaps...

But the next second, he incredulously sensed that Base's power pulse outwards, sweeping across the entire Demon Dynasty. Which meant the Base had already fallen under the control of Jasmine and the others below. And before him, the ridicule on Agreas' face grew increasingly obvious,

"How is it, I wasn't lying to you, Fisher, right? Your plan has fallen through. Remember to seek more rigorous verification before acting next time. Oh... though indeed, you have already tried your best. Facing us and the Demon Dynasty about which you knew nothing alone, had it genuinely been like this, we would have fallen by your hands. Furthermore, there is no next time..."

Fisher gasped for a moment. He had no choice but to accept the reality of the worst possible scenario.

His entire body was covered in blood that seemingly had been dyed black. He half-knelt on the ground, seemingly not having a single shred of strength to stand up anymore.

He raised his head to look at the Portal continuously dropping curtains of rain above. Through it, he glimpsed the foggy sky of the Southern Continent and a corner of a war where war cries pierced the heavens.

It was just unknown whether it was an illusion or not, but at this moment, the sounds of battle above seemed to grow increasingly fierce. The shouts and roars of countless living beings became traceable, morphing into a rhythm amid Fisher's increasingly murky consciousness, as well as the booming murmurs and tinnitus in his ears...

A rhythm of strife roared out from above, bringing a chill down the spine of everyone present.

"Whoosh!"

Within the Gate of Expression, a wave of heat abruptly blew in from afar, seemingly trying to either dry up the blood flowing on Fisher or ignite it.

"Rumble!!!"

The next moment, a pillar of fire shooting into the heavens instantly exploded behind Fisher. Spiraling and swaying from beneath the ground, it broke through the floor's confinement, igniting the atmosphere of the entire Gate of Expression like a sun.

Amidst the scorching atmosphere, a terrifying overbearing pressure poured out from within. Merely sensing the potential presence was enough to instill fear, provoking one to take up weapons for self-defense.

"Agreas!!! Barbatos!!!"

That roar of anger akin to emanating from the Avici Hell transmitted from within the pillar of fire, causing Agreas and Barbatos' subsequent movements to come to an abrupt end. The next moment, a human silhouette grew increasingly distinct within that heaven-piercing pillar of fire.

Looking up, two palms abruptly extended from within that pillar of fire. Tearing it apart, it revealed the true form residing within that pillar of fire.

"Ding-a-ling!"

What chimed first were two crisp sounds of small bells, akin to the opening curtains, illuminating that approximately two-meter-tall human silhouette.

That entity's face was no different from Eliog's, only those canine teeth originally concealed within the lips had grown increasingly prominent. Her wheat-colored, heroic and valiant face was moreover covered in mysterious blood-colored patterns. Merely looking at those patterns for a moment made one's head feverish.

On her forehead, those originally irregular black horns had presently surged in size considerably. They had become more twisted, exhibiting a hint of blood-red crimson from within akin to high-temperature magma.

The crimson long hair had completely boiled and ignited at this moment, becoming uncontrollably blown backward. Behind the back of her head, they formed a reverse crimson waterfall, as well as two sharp triangular shapes standing erect atop her head. From afar, it looked like the glowing ears atop the head of a very, very large cat of unknown breed...

But she indeed possessed genuine ears as well. Just alongside her cheeks, on her long, elf-like ears, hung two tiny bronze bells. The crisp sound just now had been made by those two bells ringing.

On her back, specifically extending from above and below her shoulder blades, were two pairs of robust arms. Baring fangs and brandishing claws, they grasped that erupting pillar of fire and terrifying power. And on her body, bronze armor protecting only key areas was fully equipped, revealing the wheat-colored, robust muscles holding terrifying destructive power on the remaining parts.

And amidst the softness enveloped by the bronze armor protruding from her chest, it felt as if an engine continuously emitting a booming roar like thunder existed within Eliog's chest cavity. The bronze armor also alternated between bright and dark with her inhalations and exhalations.

"Hiss!!"

"Rumble!!"

As that thunderous voice swept by, Fisher also incredulously turned his head to look behind him. That terrifying, six-armed Demon God also instantly entered his vision.

This... was Eliog's True Form?

Fisher was slightly stunned. In contrast, Agreas' expression involuntarily stiffened, and his fingers squeezed shut little by little. Beside him, Barbatos sighed and murmured,

"This is troublesome..."

"Rumble!"

But before Barbatos could finish speaking, Eliog's punch instantly appeared before his face. It directly warped his handsome face, smashing it deep into the ground, raising violent terrain undulations akin to waves on the ground.

"You two bastards who don't understand words!! Die for me!!"

Amidst the overflowing magma, Barbatos' mangled body rolled incessantly. Following that, his original body that was no different from a human's also began to fracture bit by bit. The hurricane held within continuously expanded, seeming to morph into a deep green robe. Countless jade-green, slender feathers akin to a peacock fanning its tail sprouted from within.

Like the wind, he continuously twisted about in this expansive area, constantly resisting Eliog's sprawling power. At the same time, his voice directed at Agreas also traveled through the wind,

"Don't hold back, Agreas. Hurry up, she has already been enraged! Is that Chaos done yet or what?!"

"..."

Barbatos' body also abruptly shot upward, and the power of the Eighteenth Tier unreservedly bloomed forth. The skin on his forehead split apart bit by bit, rapidly revealing a bizarre vertical pupil.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

"It should be a very long time since we've fought with full force like this in this era. Fine, let those entities standing at the bottom of the living beings' ladder above see what a war between 'Mythics' truly is."

The gale arrows shooting out from the countless peacock feathers draped akin to a cape behind him exploded within the Dynasty like heaven and earth splitting. Akin to wind sweeping away clouds, they swept up all the magma and rocks within the Gate of Expression, as if that were the very shape of wind resembling blades.

Yet Eliog ignored this attack altogether. With a flick of her wrists, her weapons simultaneously materialized in her upper, middle, and lower arms. An incomparably massive giant hammer lay in the uppermost arm. The middle arm tightly gripped that slender, pitch-black longspear. And the bottommost arm nimbly held that slender curved blade...

"Boom!"

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Despite looking so bloated from the outside, when those weapons simultaneously materialized in Eliog's hands, her terrifying aspects were also on full display.

As the lowermost long blade continuously hacked, the storm ahead was cleft with substantial gaps. Agreas beside him had just intended to come assist when a single hammer strike from the giant hammer above smashed against his forehead. It smashed him straight from the Gate of Expression, breaking through and plunging into the magma. And even though Barbatos wished to dodge, the longspear right in the middle was even faster than sound. Carrying a massive sonic boom, it went straight for Barbatos' head.

All three of his pupils contracted simultaneously, and he managed to dodge this spear with difficulty. But the curved blade below abruptly spun again, slicing through his peacock cape tail and the muscles of his lower abdomen, sinking into his body.

"Puchi!"

"Hiss!"

Green blood bearing a corrosive aura splattered onto the ground, yet the divine weapon in Eliog's hand remained completely undamaged. Barbatos also painfully raised his arm to press down on that long blade, wanting to advance further, but the giant hammer above also arrived in the blink of an eye...

"Barbatos, I am going to smash your head into a pulp, awooo!!"

"Urg!"

But just as she was about to strike, the cat ears formed by the flaming long hair on Eliog's head, along with the long ears on either side of her cheeks, twitched simultaneously. Turning her head, the petite human exterior of Agreas had crumbled in half, and she covered the silver-white single horn on her head. Raising her hand, she was about to tear Fisher to shreds.

Eliog was just about to fall back to help when the peacock feathers on Barbatos behind her suddenly swept out. Breaking free from the wound caused by the curved blade, he headed towards the Portal.

"Go, Barbatos, go bring that Dragon-kin back!"

Fisher abruptly raised his hand and grabbed the flesh-and-blood tentacles Agreas extended. Even as his arm was pierced through by those tentacles, he also continuously oozed Black Mud, absorbing her soul.

But he didn't even look at the wounds on his own body, merely raising his head to stare at the sky. Looking at Barbatos rapidly crossing the Portal to head to the Surface, his pupils felt as if they were splitting. Turning his head towards Eliog, he yelled at her,

"Eliog, stop Barbatos! You absolutely must not let him bring Raphaela over!!"

"But..."

Holding her blades and swords, Eliog turned her head towards the heavily battered Fisher, just intending to say something. But Fisher's even more intense, practically distorted and cracked voice had already roared out,

"Go save her!! I beg you!! I can deal with Agreas, but whatever you do, you must not let Raphaela cross over. Just let everyone else leave!!"

Before he even finished his sentence, black filth surged out from his seven orifices, seemingly seeking to devour him.

Eliog looked at the Black Mud continuously oozing from within his body, sensing his rationality crumbling bit by bit, sensing that the Chaos had already begun to swallow him. Yet he still stared blankly at Eliog, begging her to go save that Dragon-kin above...

"..."

He knew clearly what he was fighting for, and she, too, ought to know what she had to fight for at this moment when returning to her true nature.

Eliog fell silent for a moment. Thereafter, clenching her teeth, she fiercely stomped the ground. Enveloped in flames and magma, she transformed into an incomparably huge shooting star heading towards the Portal in the sky, chasing after that wind-like silhouette wrapped in azure feathers...

At the sight of Eliog and Barbatos both vanishing from sight, Fisher also clenched his teeth tight, swallowing the Black Mud continuously surging from his throat. Subsequently, he stared deadly at Agreas caught in the grasp of his Black Mud before him.

Her glasses shattered bit by bit, along with her human disguise crumbling into smoke bit by bit, revealing the massive silver single horn on her forehead.

She possessed long, deep purple hair, and the pupils of her eyes fragmented bit by bit, observing Fisher, who was still struggling to hold on, akin to a kaleidoscope.

"...It seems Baimon was right; you truly will pay your all for that Dragon-kin. Is only she special, or are all the females related to you like this?"

The battle above was the key. Whether Agreas and Barbatos could succeed totally depended on whether Raphaela could be brought back. And at this moment, sensing the Chaos continuously erupting within his body, Agreas had already abandoned hope of bringing him out...

He could no longer completely control the Chaos within his body; he was about to morph into a source of calamity like Caleb Uz...

Fisher panted, and everything before his eyes seemed to be swallowed by darkness. However, looking down, he still gritted his teeth, recalling Raphaela's appearance.

"..."

"Not talking anymore? I see; you are also on the verge of turning into pure Chaos..."

Agreas reached out and pierced through his chest. Afterwards, she wanted to retract her left hand which he had bound using his final ounce of strength, yet no matter what, the Black Mud morphed from those arms refused to let go, seemingly intent on devouring her utterly.

"Raphaela..."

"...Tsk, you lunatic."

An extremely unsettling feeling had always lingered within Raphaela's heart.

Perhaps it developed when the Human Allied Army launched their general offensive against the Dragon Court Army, or perhaps even earlier—as early as when Fisher and Jasmine departed the Dragon Court for that so-called "Demon Dynasty".

This unsettling feeling worsened as she swept her gaze across the enemy formations opposite her, yet failed to spot that previously invincible General Barbatos among them.

Right now, she hoped more than ever for that terrifying enemy to appear before her eyes. Because if that powerful enemy wasn't here, it could only mean he had gone to Fisher's side, which was precisely what Raphaela least wished to see.

Historically speaking, the two of them displayed an exceptional tacit understanding in matters like this; both preferred to draw the enemy to themselves, making it safer for the other.

But right now, the opposing Human Allied Army, under the orders of Barbatos and Agreas, had also launched an offensive against the Southern Branch Mountain Range they garrisoned. Raphaela had no choice but to focus all her attention on the incoming enemy attack.

"Splash, splash, splash!"

"Queen! They have begun their attack. Please issue your orders!"

"Queen, they are on the move. What should we do?"

"Don't panic!!"

Amidst the torrential rain filling the sky, the Dragon Court forces atop the Southern Branch Mountain Range mounted their physical and magical offenses. Raphaela, however, simply held her troops back. From the humans below using artillery and magic to the vanguard knights engaging in close-quarters combat with the Dragon Court forces, Barbatos still hadn't made an appearance.

The presence of Barbatos lingered over her heart like a dark cloud. After a moment of hesitation, Raphaela finally made up her mind to personally enter the fray to ascertain Barbatos' whereabouts.

If Barbatos was among the enemy ranks, she would confront him directly, sparing Fisher the encounter; conversely, if he truly wasn't there, then even though the Dragon Court Army was currently outnumbered, with Raphaela—a Fourteenth-Tier Queen—present, they wouldn't be a match.

"...Royal Guards, heed my command! Stand guard here and maintain the defensive measures. Lar, charge with me and relay my commands at any time!"

"Queen, you absolutely must not. That Barbatos..."

"Rumble!"

The complexions of the surrounding generals changed drastically as they tried to stop Raphaela's actions. Only Lar beside her silently pulled up her cloak and mask, preparing to follow Raphaela. The next second, rolls of thunder resounded from the sky, the pale light illuminating the faces of the numerous generals. Raphaela merely summoned her longspear with a "clang" and looking at the battle unfolding below, she said,

"Commanders of each legion, lead your troops well and do not fall into chaos. Making sure the enemy does not cross the Southern Branch Mountain Range is your first priority... Lar, let's go!"

"Yes, Raphaela."

Saying so, Raphaela leapt down from the mountain range with a "boom". Lar behind her cast a glance at the numerous generals beside her, slipped on her goggles, and fiercely plummeted from the high altitude.

Amidst the countless curtains of rain, she fell straight down without any defensive measures. It wasn't until she was merely a hundred meters or so from the ground that Raphaela below abruptly flicked her spear in a flourish aimed at Lar behind her. Lar then stepped on the spearhead for leverage and transformed into a spinning blade storm resembling a top, plummeting headlong into the knight order shielded by countless magic buffs.

"Rumble!"

But Lar's initial attack was merely a feint to draw their attention. When the Dragon Queen behind her raised her spear and smashed it down fiercely, a vast swath of knights raising their shields in defense were instantly blown away. Amidst the blood-red and scorching flames, severed limbs flew everywhere, greatly shocking the human soldiers watching from afar.

Of course, among them were numerous veterans who hadn't panicked, having participated in the war against the Dragon Court four and a half years ago. The commander-in-chief of this vanguard force was precisely such an individual who had followed Barbatos in the early stages of the war. Seeing the Dragon Queen massacring everything in her path amidst the army formation, he merely furrowed his brows, patted his attendant's shoulder, and said,

"Bring those Cardinals over; I will activate them."

"Yes, sir!"

"Oh right, go notify General Barbatos that the Dragon Queen has entered the battlefield again..."

"Yes, but sir, the communications officer had already gone to report the situation here earlier, but the main camp over there is somewhat chaotic. It's said they couldn't find General Barbatos, so..."

"What?!"

This commander hadn't panicked even while watching the Dragon Queen steamroll through like she was in no man's land, but hearing that the army's main commander had suddenly gone missing still induced a feeling of unrest within his heart. He hurriedly pinched the attendant's mouth shut, then swallowed a mouthful of saliva. Watching the people beside him bring over crates upon crates of Cardinals, he said sternly,

"This matter absolutely must not be disclosed to anyone else. If spoken out loud, I fear a grand rout..."

The attendant could only smile bitterly and agree. It was fine on this side since they were further away, but it would likely be troublesome at the main camp.

"Buzz, buzz, buzz!"

"Raphaela, it's those weird machines!"

Hearing Lar's reminder, Raphaela turned to look. She saw countless black masses of machines ascending into the sky, pouring towards them with immense oppressive force. Frowning, Raphaela used the magic engraved on her spear shaft to defend against them, but despite being subjected to fierce flame burning, those Cardinals remained entirely unscathed and continued flying towards them.

Still not coming out? Barbatos, it seems you really went to Fisher's side...

Just as Raphaela gritted her teeth, raising her spear to face the incoming Cardinals, her cheek suddenly went numb. After a slight daze, she raised her hand to touch her cheek, and a pool of scorching blood conspicuously appeared in her palm...

A wound?

When was I cut by what...

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

Yet just as Raphaela pondered this question, the flying Cardinals before her all began to sway uncontrollably, as if they had suddenly lost their support in the air. Meanwhile, amidst the countless routed human soldiers fleeing beside her, some ran until their limbs and heads dropped to the ground.

"Ahhhhh!"

"Is it wind?"

Raphaela muttered. Subsequently, she raised her eyes towards the human encampments and witnessed an extremely unforgettable scene.

She saw an enormous whirlwind, seemingly connecting straight to the heavens, abruptly surge up from the ground. Countless curtains of rain and dark clouds between heaven and earth granted a form to the formless wind, also revealing the wind blades that had just lacerated Raphaela and the human soldiers.

As that fierce hurricane manifested, an immense suction force spread outwards from within. The ground split open crack by crack, leaving terrifying marks resembling cleaver gashes. Countless humans roared as they fired upon the hurricane and used magic, yet everything vanished before its terrifying lethality.

"Lar, come back!"

That hurricane didn't look like it was meant to deal with the Dragon Court, because it originated from within the Human Allied Army's main camp, directly slaughtering their soldiers nearby. Afterwards, that massive hurricane dissipated bit by bit, transforming into countless gigantic hurricanes of the same model while simultaneously revealing a dream-like Portal leading deep underground.

Raphaela hurriedly reached out and pulled Lar back. Lar, however, watched the diffusing wind carrying countless pieces of armor and corpses in terror, crying out in alarm,

"Raphaela, that wind is heading towards us!"

Gritting her teeth, Raphaela ran back. But even with her Fourteenth-Tier physical strength, she found it hard to take a single step forward against this hurricane generating immense suction, much less those ordinary humans and demi-humans.

Atop the Southern Branch Mountain Range, people were continuously blown away by the wind, and people roared incessantly. Faced with this scene, Raphaela's heart suddenly grew increasingly irritable for some unknown reason. Beside her, those wounded soldiers lying on the ground, their bodies clearly fractured, surged towards her with bloodshot eyes, intent on killing her.

"Kill! Kill!"

"Are you... all crazy?"

Raphaela skewered one with her spear, then continued fleeing while holding Lar. Lar hugged Raphaela, her claws uncontrollably tightening. She whimpered uncomfortably and said to Raphaela,

"Lord Raphaela, something's wrong. I feel... very irritable. It's the feeling coming from that hollow; I'm so scared..."

"Don't look over there, inside there's..."

"Buzz, buzz, buzz!"

But the next second, before Raphaela could finish speaking, everything went quiet...

No, to be precise, it wasn't that she hadn't finished speaking, but that the words she subsequently spoke were swallowed, swallowed by an even more powerful force and sound, thus making it seem as if nothing had been heard.

Behind them, it suddenly grew exceptionally bright, as if the sun had risen. Turning her head, Raphaela saw two shadows rising slowly from that hollow like thunder amidst the rain curtains, tearing at each other as they rushed into the sky.

"Barbatos!!!"

A female roar of anger capable of stripping everyone of their hearing and attention rang out. Accompanied by that massive sound, the gazes of everyone present turned blood-red. The next second, that shadow covered entirely in jade-green peacock feathers spread its wings again, flying towards higher altitudes, while the other six-armed, crimson tiger-like figure fell heavily due to lacking wings, heading precisely towards Raphaela's location.

Raphaela widened her eyes, the tinnitus ringing incessantly in her ears. The rain curtains spanning heaven and earth seemed to be ignited by the descending entity, turning into vaporizing steam.

"Boom!"

It was only the next second, when that nearly two-meter-tall female figure landed before her, that Raphaela remembered to run. Yet the moment her footsteps barely began to shift, a souring sensation swept through her body, as if she were about to disintegrate. It made her even more terrified than when she was defeated in a single strike by Barbatos back then...

"Are you Raphaela?"

The six-armed Demon God before her landed steadily on the ground. Subsequently, twitching the two slender red-haired ears on her head and the long ears beside her cheeks, she abruptly asked this using remarkably fluent Dragon Court language.

Only then did Raphaela remember to breathe. She carried Lar—who had already fainted due to being shaken by the entity before them—trembling on her back. Panting, she said,

"Yo-you are?"

Eliog cast a complex glance at the Dragon-kin before her. Having fully unleashed her true nature, a feeling of irritability suddenly swelled within her heart. But ultimately, she wagged her tail, not answering her question. Merely looking towards the sky, she said,

"I am Eliog, Fisher's... whatever. Regardless, do not approach that Portal. Find a safe place to hide."

Raphaela, however, seemed to have realized something. She hurriedly said,

"Yo-you should know Fisher, right? That Portal, is he down below? What about Jasmine, a Whale-kin? Is she down there too?"

"...If you don't want to disappoint him and let down his good intentions, hurry up and find a place to hide until this is all over."

"Wait, he..."

"Rumble!"

The next second, however, Eliog had already fiercely stomped the ground and leapt into the high sky once more, vanishing from before her and heading towards the deep green figure that was about to plummet toward Raphaela from the sky above.

"Get away from her!! Barbatos!!"

"He's already going to die. Letting her go down might mean he survives... Fisher is willing to sacrifice himself for her. Do you actually think he can survive down there facing Agreas in that state?"

"Talks too much!!"

In mid-air, Eliog violently clashed with Barbatos enveloped in deep green feathers. Instantly, countless gales and intense heat erupted in mid-air. Only then did Raphaela realize belatedly that she needed to hide.

The immense impact forces felt as if they would drag the world into the apocalypse. Wave after wave of shockwaves spread outwards in tandem with Eliog and Barbatos' mid-air clash. The wails of the people, the collapsing of the ground, and the sounds of the rain curtains all vanished because many entities' ears had already been deafened by the colossal noises, leaving them unable to even watch the exchange.

Much like the punished humans in the Scripture of Creation being unable to gaze directly upon the Mother Goddess's miracles, people could only pass down such spectacles through imagination, thereby bestowing upon them the title of "Mythic".

Countless of Barbatos' feathers stood erect, turning every inch of his body into blades. While dodging, he sought to put some distance between them. However, Eliog gave him no opportunity. Like a mad tiger, she continuously hammered his body with her six arms.

"Vroom, vroom, vroom!"

A sound akin to an engine ringing out, Eliog's entire visage was covered by roaring flames. Seeing that she couldn't break through Barbatos' defenses, she instead viciously stepped on Barbatos' feathers, simultaneously assuming a striking stance in mid-air amidst an explosive crack.

Not good, this is...

Seeing Eliog laugh maniacally while assuming a dance-like pose, Barbatos wanted to turn and flee. But it was too late; Eliog's Demon God Combat Method had already been deployed. The next moment, her six arms slithered over like whips simultaneously.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

Akin to explosions, the sounds of Eliog's offense clashing against Barbatos' defense consecutively rang out. The upper arms defended from the Baihui point down to the Renying point, the middle arms struck from the Danzhong point to the Shangqu point. Barbatos instinctively tried to continue downward, but Eliog before him gave a wicked grin. Her lowest arms abruptly raised up, striking his neck simultaneously. While knocking his head fiercely upward, her four fists simultaneously hammered down onto the Qihai position on his lower abdomen.

"Urg!!"

Barbatos' facial features contorted from the beating, and all the feathers on his body abruptly ensnared Eliog. However, that immense impact force still concurrently carried both of them as they smashed into the Southern Branch Mountain Range behind them.

"Rumble!"

In merely a second, the figures of the two smashed through the Southern Branch Mountain Range, instantly obliterating the Dragon Court's defensive line. Yet their figures continued flying southward, smashing and snapping countless mountains and forests along the way, until they saw the ocean and the city situated before the ocean...

A distance of a hundred miles, traversed in the blink of an eye.

Meanwhile, the pounding sounds atop the mountains swept down myriad mountain fragments. The scant garrison forces as well as the old, weak, women, and children defending the Dragon Court city grew struck with panic. Gazing distantly upwards at the mountain range causing the earthquakes, those unaware would have thought an earth dragon had turned over within...

"Is... is the Human Allied Army attacking?"

"Don't... don't panic. It should just be an earthquake. They shouldn't be here this fast..."

"..."

The wails and panicking below naturally didn't enter the eyes of the two stubbornly fighting Demon Gods. Deep in the mountains, severed, newly formed peaks thrust upward by immense power were everywhere. And within them lay Barbatos, who was unable to hold on and collapsed onto the ground, and Eliog, who retreated while panting.

"Puchi..."

Drop after drop of viscous, bright green blood constantly fell. The emerald green feathers on Barbatos' body gradually dimmed, drooping uselessly beside him.

"Eliog, you must have held it in for a very long time too... cough, cough."

He covered his face that dripped continuously with blood. Meanwhile, Eliog slowly lowered her raised fists. Spitting a mouthful of fire onto the barren ground where the dirt had been beaten away to reveal bare rocks beside her, she gritted her teeth and said,

"How many times have I told you? Baimon is deceiving you two, using you as tools. Yet you still foolishly rush forward; is something wrong with your brains?"

Barbatos, however, merely looked at her and said,

"Then, do you have any other ways to get us out?"

"..."

Eliog was choked by these words. Yet Barbatos merely shook his head and continued,

"I know that since its birth, our race has been a tangled mess, each acting independently with no one controlling anyone else. We also have many scum trapped by their nature. They deserve to be sealed and locked up by that False God. But what about me? What about Cidi?

"How many years have Cidi and I lived in seclusion in unknown places after restraining our natures? Today, out in the world, not a single race even remembers my true name. Did we commit a sin by not participating in that war? Do you, who stayed asleep in your lair, also bear a sin?

"Of course, you don't care, but we have to be separated in two different places, unable to even slumber together. Baimon previously brought the method allowing our souls to temporarily escape the seal and gave it to Agreas. She researched for so long, several thousand years. If there was truly a way for us to escape, would we actually trust Baimon?"

The feathers on Barbatos' body twitched. Shaking his head, he said,

"You only know to refute us, yet you cannot provide any valuable solutions. Ultimately, it is solely because that Fisher has a deep relationship with you. For him, you disregard the ties of our race. We can understand this. You disregarding Agreas, who also originally wanted to release you, for his sake, I can also understand... but why can't you understand that I am also doing this for Cidi, that I chose to believe Baimon so I could reunite with him...

"Legends in the world say that False God finally couldn't stand witnessing the actions we committed on the Southern Continent and West Continent with our own eyes to place that agonizing seal upon us... Hehe, if this were truly so, how could we as Mythical Species still get along with humans and other races here for so many years? We have to guard the Death beneath the Dynasty, and to us, our nature is simply as basic as eating and drinking for humans. How could we have gone too far?

"It was merely because that False God worried there would be no other Mythical Species and that we would grow too powerful at the end of the war, thereby resorting to such drastic measures. Ask yourself quietly, what did we actually do back then to end up imprisoned as an entire race today? A hundred years is not enough, a thousand years is not enough. Do we have to wait ten thousand years, until eternity?"

Perhaps there was also disappointment within Barbatos' gaze. As a demon, Eliog naturally knew that back then, they were simply the final existences that False God dragged into the water before she subsided into obliteration.

That deity chose humanity, favoring humanity. Even if she herself were to face obliteration, she would drag all remaining Mythic existences towards obliteration alongside her.

But looking at the facts, had humans truly done better than the Mythical Species?

The world became their stage, yet for the world itself, there weren't major changes compared to the past...

Therefore, setting aside races, let's only talk about personal feelings.

Meeting Barbatos' gaze, Eliog's expression was also somewhat complex. She exhaled a long breath, thick gunpowder smoke flowing from her mouth. She finally said,

"Cidi can restrain your nature and is your most important existence. And Fisher can restrain my nature, so I am willing to fight for him... Then, there's no need to say any more..."

She raised the weapons in her hands once more, her six arms adopting combat stances simultaneously,

"All enmities, end here and now."

This phrase was once the most frequent saying among demons internally. Because they were separated, rising conflicts were a frequent occurrence. Therefore, there existed an unwritten rule within the Dynasty: internal demon conflicts settled issues as they arose; the cause and effect of past matters would not affect anything that followed.

Demons could not be killed. Once a Demon God died, the seal of Death would diminish. Thus, even the Mother Goddess could only seal them.

Therefore, the demons' method of resolving enmity was to end everything when the pertinent event occurred.

Barbatos unhooked the bow and arrows he had been carrying on his back. Aiming at Eliog, he also softly stated,

"All enmities, end here and now."

"Buzz, buzz, buzz!"

The next moment, Mythic power descended once more.

Dragon Court, within the Myriad Flower Court.

Yali'er clutched her chest. The ground outside quivered unceasingly, as if corroborating the terror of the battle afar.

Outside the flowerbeds, many children stood orderly under the protection of the Myriad Flower Court guards. Yet unable to endure their panic, soon some children began weeping, and the weeping echoed consecutively within the Myriad Flower Court like an uncontainable plague.

"Lord Yali'er, it seems a battle is taking place over by the Southern Branch Mountain Range. Could it be... that the Human Allied Army has breached our lines?"

The guards had to comfort the children in their arms, but as adults, even if they wouldn't cry, their concerns regarding the current situation were not diminished in the slightest. Looking at Yali'er standing inside the pavilion, they voiced their suspicions.

Yali'er was momentarily stunned. Stepping outside the pavilion, she looked at the continuously trembling mountain range. She was just about to say something when she saw a green light abruptly shoot out from the mountain range. Slicing through four or five mountain peaks by the waist, it nevertheless penetrated dozens of miles incessantly until plunging into the ocean, splashing a towering water column extending a thousand meters above the ocean.

"Bang!!!"

"Lord Yali'er, be careful!"

Yali'er stared blankly at this "wall of water," akin to a natural moat, rising from the ocean. Her reasoning seemed to be yanked away by this terrifying power; she instantly lost all strength. It wasn't until the guards behind her rushed out of the pavilion and pulled her back that she realized the tsunami destined to capsize this place accompanying the descent of that wall of water was fast approaching.

"Wha-what exactly is this..."

"Lord Yali'er, are you alright?"

"Such... power... Raphaela she... ha... ha..."

Looking at that terrifying power, the first thing that surfaced in Yali'er's heart was worry for her daughter. She couldn't understand how such power could appear among humans. Only as she blankly pondered this did she realize there were still so many children and guards beside her.

"Lord Yali'er, we..."

She took a deep breath, and then quickly stood up. Looking at the impending wall of water outside, she said to everyone,

"...Quick! Hurry up and take the children away from here. The tsunami is about to arrive!"

"Yes, Lord Yali'er. I will escort you first..."

"No, quickly take the children away. I can leave myself! Hurry, move!"

However, the battle over at the mountain range continued, with intense earthquakes occurring unceasingly. Even with Yali'er's guidance, the entire situation grew exceptionally chaotic.

Given Yali'er's instructions, everyone's sole objective was to flee as quickly as possible. As for those children, aside from those originally held in arms, many were forgotten mid-flight.

Yali'er held onto the children one by one, sending them to the guards' sides, then returned to see if there were any children remaining inside.

"Rumble!"

"Is anyone still inside? Children, quickly leave. The tsunami is coming!"

The Myriad Flower Court gradually quieted down, but Yali'er continued calling out inside, afraid that some poor soul hadn't made it out in time. Yet hearing no response slightly put her mind at ease. She had just prepared to turn back and leave when a call abruptly resonated from the Ancestral Shrine in the Dragon Court,

"Lord Yali'er, I'm still here..."

Yali'er was slightly stunned. Turning towards the Ancestral Shrine's direction, she saw a human woman dressed in Dragon Court attire waving at her with a smile in front of a wall full of candles.

That is...

Oh right, it was that human Raphaela sent over previously, saying she was some... journalist or something, named Ingrid, passing by?

"Wh-why haven't you left yet? What are you still doing here? The tsunami is almost here, hurry and leave with me!"

Panting, Yali'er quickly walked towards Ingrid and reached out to pull her. Astonishingly, she found this human felt like she weighed thousands of tons; as a Dragon-kin, Yali'er couldn't move her in the slightest.

"Who exactly are..."

Only then did Yali'er realize belatedly amidst her panic and hurriedly let go of her hand.

Since arriving, this human had always only spoken her own homeland's language, the language of a human nation. Why was she suddenly speaking the Dragon Court language now?

"There's no need to be afraid, Lord Yali'er. Honestly, I'm here to converse with you regarding a matter..."

"Converse... with me about what... But the tsunami is almost here right now; we should hurry and flee. Cannot whatever matter wait until later?"

Ingrid smiled and propped up her chin. With a slight flash of her distinct, starburst-patterned blue-gold irises, the roaring tsunami from afar instantaneously flew backwards out of control, scattering into nothingness.

"You..."

"Lord Yali'er, I wanted to say that your daughter, Raphaela, is likely going to die very soon."

Yali'er incredulously spun her head back around, only to see her wave her hands and subsequently pour tea for herself. She also poured a cup of tea for Yali'er and placed it on the table. Pointing at the seat before her, she said,

"Please sit, Lord Yali'er."

She was as at ease as if this space were her own territory. It also rendered Yali'er temporarily incapable of reconciling this suddenly natural woman with the silent human woman from a half-month prior.

But whether it was the dissipated tsunami beside them or the news she spoke of, Yali'er found herself temporarily incapable of tearing herself away. After a moment of silence, she finally sat at the table. Looking at the tea-sipping woman before her, asked,

"Ingrid, what do you mean by Raphaela is about to die?"

"Drink tea first, Lord Yali'er."

How could one have the mind to at a time like this...

Such were Yali'er's thoughts. But when she looked down at the teacup before her, an image dreamily manifested atop the water's surface.

The image displayed the northern end of the Southern Branch Mountain Range, completely surrounded by a hurricane enveloping a Portal leading to a mysterious space.

After safely placing the unconscious Lar down, Raphaela constantly peered distantly forwards with unrest, gazing upon that distant Portal as if worrying for whoever was inside it.

"Th-this is..."

"Lord Yali'er, perhaps you've known of Raphaela's uniqueness since she was young?"

Ingrid set down her teacup, recounting the memories buried deep within Yali'er's mind,

"One day she couldn't sleep and came to your and your husband's bedroom, stating she had a nightmare... There was a lot of black mud pursuing her in the dream, as if intending to swallow her. She was very afraid, which is why she came looking for you two..."

Yali'er was momentarily dazed, yet these memories quickly returned to her mind. She murmured,

"Ye-yes. And that's not all... She always recalled some things we had never told her. Those ancient Dragon Court codices, those spells. Moreover, she always wanted to head somewhere outside the tribe. We restricted her at all turns, thus she snuck out prior to coming of age..."

"How did you explain it to her back then?"

"I merely said her soul was unique, but actually, such legends have circulated within our tribe for a very long time. It was highly probable she was the reincarnation of some great figure..."

Ingrid smiled slightly and proceeded,

"Not truly reincarnation per se. It's just that Raphaela possesses something exceptionally precious. It is something the Dragon God Fafnir protected even at the cost of his life, albeit having its properties altered due to Chaotic contamination..."

"What does this... mean?"

Ingrid pleasantly looked at Yali'er, an effulgent divine light gleaming within her starburst pupils.

"It means, your daughter is the true objective of those terrifying enemies. Fisher has known about this for a long time, thus risking his life to fight the enemy. Yet the enemy is very strong, and he is no match... However, he is an absolute fool. He is willing to perish for your daughter's sake."

The image within the tea before Yali'er changed once again, shifting to an image of Fisher, his chest pierced through, fiercely fighting a terrifying existence, turning Yali'er's eyes red in the process.

When she agreed to Raphaela and Fisher's matter back then, there had indeed been an inclination towards compromise. Yet, perhaps she also hadn't anticipated that this human man would actually go thus far for Raphaela's sake.

"Well then, Auntie Yali'er, let's have a test on Dragon-kin cultural knowledge right now."

Raising a finger with a smile, Ingrid queried,

"Question: if a Dragon-kin's Tail-Compatible Partner is placed in a life-or-death crisis, what will that Dragon-kin do? Choice one: Leave him behind without looking..."

"Raphaela will go back to save Fisher!"

Yali'er cried out without even a second thought, causing Ingrid, who was halfway through her sentence, to smile and nod. Taking another sip of tea, she stated,

"Correct. Dragon-kin are always madly devoted to love. Even though there are already entities holding her back from approaching, how could she ignore Fisher and let him face death alone. However, Lord Yali'er, answering this question correctly comes with a corresponding reward... What if I tell you, I can keep her from dying?"

"You..."

The candle flames before Yali'er wavered violently, as if those deceased ancestors of Raphaela were pleading alongside her, pleading to save this Dragon-kin who was foolishly devoted to love.

Yali'er fell silent for a moment, then dropped to her knees with a "thud". Lowering her head, she pleaded to Ingrid before her,

"You must definitely not be an ordinary human, but regardless of where you come from or what your purpose is, I beseech you... save my daughter... If a price must be paid, I... I am willing to give my all. Whatever you want is fine. I only ask to save her. I cannot lose her again..."

Ingrid softly smiled and reached down. Speaking softly, she proposed,

"Okay, but I don't want anything. I merely need your Dragon Horn to save your daughter's life..."

"Just that..."

Yali'er was momentarily dazed. First, gratitude surfaced in her eyes, followed by incomprehension.

"Thank you... but... I don't understand why you would help us like this... I..."

"...Just making an extra preparation is all."

"...What?"

Ingrid delightfully stood up and reached towards Yali'er's head. Offering no anwer to her question, she merely said softly,

"Alright, after this, your memories will grow somewhat vague. It's a necessary side effect. Please rest well."

Within the Myriad Flower Court, as a flash of light radiant as the morning sun passed, the sounds of conversation concluded.

The fierce battle at the Southern Branch Mountain Range raged on. Explosive earthquake sounds travelled successively, shaking the candle flames that quietly watched Yali'er lying unconscious and devoid of her soul-connected Dragon Horn incessantly; observing the genesis of a Mythic era.

"Did you know that back in the Dragon Court of Fafnir, there was an unlucky bastard just like you who thought he could accomplish something relying on the Chaotic Knowledge within his body... In the end, he left nothing to this world but devastation and destruction scattered everywhere."

"Splash, splash, splash."

The sky-filling rain poured down along the Portal, falling into the Demon Dynasty and landing on Fisher—from whose body black mud continuously surged—as well as Agreas before him. Her arm was tightly entangled by him, unwilling to let go. Although Agreas' expression remained calm on the surface, only she knew that she had to divert a considerable amount of energy to resist the soul-draining sensation emanating from the black mud on Fisher at this moment.

Glancing upwards and receiving no news from Barbatos for a long time, she roughly guessed that his battle with Eliog was not progressing smoothly, and he likely wouldn't have the opportunity to bring that Dragon-kin down.

"What do you think that Transferred Person named Caleb Uz was thinking before being swallowed by the Chaos? I heard that before he was hunted down by the Dragon God and fled, his mind was already unclear. You are in a similar situation as him now. Can't you tell me what on earth you are thinking right now, and what he was thinking back then?"

"..."

Fisher gritted his teeth and lowered his head, offering no reply to Agreas' words. Yet his consciousness unknowingly continued to flow along the scene she described. Once again, he saw the demigod roaring at "himself" above the Fafnir Dragon Court back then.

It was a gloomy and rainy day, a weather exactly the same as today. Even Fisher standing in place seemed to have turned into that "Caleb Uz" who powerlessly collapsed onto the ground...

"Transferred Person, you provoke time and time again. Just what exactly are you doing it for?!"

"I... I want to break free from my destiny... Dragon God, let me enter the Spirit World. I was just a little bit away... just a little bit away from being able to..."

Caleb Uz's expression grew increasingly despairing, because it was only until recently that he finally understood everything within the Chaotic Knowledge.

Just as Fisher had seen, his notebook recorded many of his thoughts and reflections while researching the Chaotic Knowledge. However, because the Completion Handbook was written by him in advance, an inevitable lag occurred in these thoughts and reflections.

In the handbook, he didn't meticulously describe everything he saw in his past lives for Fisher, nor did he tell Fisher exactly what his "Consciousness Abyss" personally told him. Furthermore, he didn't record why, after experiencing so many past life memories, he remained stubbornly intent on entering the Spirit World.

But at this moment, the Chaos pouring fully into Fisher's body revealed the answers to everything.

Right now, what appeared before Caleb Uz's eyes was a pair of blonde, blue-eyed mother and daughter. Fisher could recognize almost at a glance that they were Caleb Uz's deceased wife and daughter.

But quickly, the appearance of those two existences began to continuously change. From a pair of smiling humans, they gradually shifted into two organic lifeforms of varying sizes covered in slime. Yet in Caleb Uz's eyes, they remained just as intimate. Following that, their external forms began changing once more...

From normal carbon-based life to somewhat strange silicon-based life, from an extremely massive cosmic camel to an infinitesimally small microscopic organism... until those two figures turned into a blurry existence, a concept: lost love...

Only then did Caleb Uz painfully clutch his head and collapse to the ground, agonizing black mud continuously welling up from his nose and mouth.

His soul... it turned out he had entered the souls of countless civilizations and countless races! It turned out that in every life, every lifetime, he had continuously endured this pain of parting.

It was as if he had experienced a lifetime of every sentient creature in the universe outside, and had likewise gained these beautiful emotions—those humans could understand, and those humans could not understand. Yet they were destined to be lost due to some unknown reasons...

Could this be destined by fate? Was he truly so unlucky that he must face such suffering in every life, every moment?

Or perhaps, everything about him was being manipulated from the shadows by an unfathomably powerful god, mockingly watching him review his past lives while repressing these sorrows time and time again until they finally coalesced into despairing agony...

Yes, Caleb Uz gradually understood. Only an intense consciousness built upon hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of lives could become...

Become, the [Base of the Ocean].

The figures of Caleb Uz and Fisher seemed to cross centuries of time and begin to overlap. Caleb Uz, who had waited so long because the Dragon God interrupted his mission, finally birthed from the Chaotic Knowledge onto Fisher's body. It seemed that at this moment, Fisher also inherited the extreme despair he felt before his death.

This agony erupting from the origin of consciousness threatening to melt him down. He subconsciously wanted to reject this process, but Agreas before him seized the opportunity while he lowered his head to struggle with the Soul Chaos within his body. Suddenly, she fiercely severed her own four limbs that were entangled by the black mud. Her entire being prepared to fly backward to leave this place and personally bring that Dragon-kin back.

"Come... back to me..."

Acting on his instinctive consciousness, Agreas had yet to breathe a sigh of relief after breaking away from him when the black mud continuously leaking from his body had already spread outwards. In the blink of an eye, it extended dozens of meters away. The deformed Fisher finally relaxed the human form he had maintained in the past, beginning to change towards his soul's true appearance.

The spreading black mud exuded an extremely dangerous aura. Countless sharp claws and fangs resembling tentacles extended from within. The moment those claws and fangs appeared, Agreas' pupils also shrank slightly. Because in the next second, she helplessly watched her own physical body "run" out of her line of sight...

No, that's not right; it was her soul that was grabbed by that black mud!

Agreas gritted her teeth. Caring nothing for capturing Raphaela anymore, she hurriedly stimulated the power throughout her entire body, driving her physical body backwards to merge as one with her soul and jointly defend against the black mud's offense.

This black mud could actually directly break the Mythical Species' Body and Soul Unity trait?!

Even if demons' traits were less obvious than other Mythical Species due to possessing chaotic power within their bodies, a direct separation of soul and physical body was still a little too exaggerated, wasn't it?

Agreas' gaze was exceptionally grave. She reached out and formed a hand seal. In an instant, countless locust tree roots sprouted from within her body, securely enveloping her. Meanwhile, the black mud forcefully and recklessly dragged her down, smashing her fiercely into the black mud's encirclement, desiring to pull her out from the large spheres formed by those roots and devour her soul.

"Fine then, let's see which of us is faster: me finding that Dragon-kin of yours and bringing her before you first, or you losing your mind and entirely swallowing me up..."

"..."

Looking at this bizarre black mud beneath her, a drop of cold sweat trailed down Agreas' forehead. Simultaneously, a remarkably excited gleam involuntarily welled up within her eyes. Utilizing the protection of the locust tree roots beside her, she coldly chuckled and reached her hand right into the black mud beneath her.

She wanted to deconstruct the specific composition of this Chaos. That Chaos of Tao Gong had already had its contained authority fully grasped by her.

If Ramastia's authority were to be named, using [Bestow Life] to describe it would actually be more appropriate. His authority truly lay in bestowing pure life force, therefore the life force circulating within most living beings in this world was actually unified; as for the authority corresponding to the knowledge within the Life Completion Manual, using [Usurping Life] to describe it would be more appropriate. It excelled at distorting and altering life forms to required, rational forms...

Agreas was confident in her own "bizarre-seeking" nature and her understanding of Life Chaos, therefore she actually dared to directly reach into Fisher's spreading black mud at this moment to analyze its authority's composition.

"Thousands of years ago, the Dragon God died for the Soul Disaster spreading within your body. Being rash and lacking wisdom, it was only meant to be... If I can analyze everything contained within this Chaos, both you and your Dragon Queen will entirely turn into nourishment for the revival of my Dynasty!"

Fisher coldly looked at her as countless black mud surged over in an instant. Simultaneously, Agreas' right hand also began to distort, bursting forth with thick power of destiny. She was buying time to analyze the underlying authority of this Chaos.

She mocked with a smile. Her distorted right hand continuously changed hand seals. In the next moment, a sentence in pure Elvish had already been spat from her mouth:

"Elf Secret Method: Reborn Niwan Palace."

The moment the secret method formed, Agreas' head fiercely distorted, twisting the surrounding space like a whirlpool. Subsequently, it violently exploded, directly splitting into countless terrifying, visible spatial rifts that sliced towards Fisher.

The black mud on the ground was pure Chaos, wholly unaffected by the spatial power before it. However, Fisher's not-yet-fully-changed true form suffered a calamity. The speed was so fast that Fisher found it hard to dodge. He could only barely sidestep to evade, yet his right arm and one foot were still cleanly shorn off.

"Ugh!"

The severed limbs directly plunged into the black mud, and the ensuing pain further aggravated Fisher's eroding rationality. He gritted his teeth and supported his body, while countless black mud consecutively dragged Agreas' locust tree sphere downwards.

"Hasn't your true appearance already become very obvious? Why do you still retain your human visage? What, are you reluctant to part with this handsome face of yours?"

The spatial rifts dispersed by the Elf Secret Method seemed tainted by the thoughts within Agreas' mind, consequently bursting forth with scenes polluting the physical space. Countless figures from the Mythic War surged forth, concealing her smiling figure within.

Actually, Fisher also knew he could no longer be considered human. Just tracing how the severed limbs melted instantly upon plunging into the black muck could prove this point.

But he truly dared not relinquish this bottom line that seemed somewhat pretentious at this moment. Especially since his mind was still battling the Chaos about to transform into a base. Once his physical form was breached, he simply dared not imagine what would become of his consciousness.

However, Raphaela not arriving for so long already indicated that Eliog was helping him...

In that case...

Fisher sneered coldly. The black mud within his body and spreading beneath him grew increasingly restless and unbearable, quickly spraying out towards the distance. It swallowed everything in its path, extracting the souls in the surroundings.

Through the spatial illusions of the Niwan Palace secret method, Fisher saw many figures of the Tree Continent from back then: Tao Gong, who had already changed into a towering, twisted giant tree; the countless angels descending with divine punishment from the sky and the Chain of Heaven; the Dragon God roaring while fiercely battling his compatriots; and finally, that golden blade shadow capable of overturning a continent...

But none of these phantoms had a soul!

The only one truly possessing a soul was that fellow Agreas!

The black mud seemed to instantly find its direction. While eroding Fisher's consciousness, it transformed into a heaven-swallowing giant python and pounced towards Agreas hiding behind the spatial rifts.

"Tch, what a bother..."

Agreas' left hand remained plunged into the black mud, meaning she had to face three fronts simultaneously.

Firstly, the direct soul-swallowing power of the black mud her hand contacted, requiring much of her power to defend against; secondly, analyzing the authority behind the black mud's Chaos, also demanding much energy; lastly, dealing with the offensive Chaos driven by Fisher, which ironically consumed the least effort.

Because Fisher's own rank was not high. Even with this cheating tool called Soul Chaos, it was undoubtedly a double-edged sword for him; he was also constantly enduring its interference.

Agreas had confidence in defeating him, because the true form of the Chaos authority in her hand was becoming increasingly distinct!

Feeling this clear advantage, the palm of Agreas' right hand distorted again, drawing out a twisted sword-shaped Holy Artifact from her body. Her back also began to distortly generate structures mimicking an angel's halo and wings, stimulated by the Life Chaos.

She was simulating an angel's structure to fully unleash the might of the Holy Artifact in her hands.

"This thing is the treasure of Archangel Michael. Acquiring it took quite a bit of effort on my part...

"Multi-Ring Prime Magic Giant Dragon Hunting Spear."

Fisher's murmurs echoed perfectly with Agreas' longsword, which seemed to ignite with punishing holy flames. It wasn't until the spreading black mud began bursting with countless electric spears flashing with jet-black lightning alongside Fisher's blurry consciousness that Agreas raised the holy sword high. Pouring down boundless light and flames, just as the lightning densely swallowed her, those flames entirely enveloped and burned him as well.

"Urrrgghhhhh!"

"...Hehe. Continuing this, you'll be the one to suffer."

Trading injuries with Fisher was a perfectly profitable business for current Agreas. Her rank was higher than his, and she possessed complete Life Chaos knowledge within her body. In terms of restorative capability and trauma tolerance, she definitively vastly outstripped Fisher. Furthermore, it seemed his rationality was on the verge of collapsing...

More importantly, having bought enough time, she had already sensed exactly what authority was contained within that black mud!

She sneered coldly, her consciousness abruptly sinking into the world of Chaos. Unlike the restlessness and roaring felt after reading the Life Usurping Authority, it was extremely quiet here. Amidst the boundless, endless pitch-black, there were only the rhythmic sounds of waves crashing against the shore.

"Splash... splash... splash..."

Standing on the shore, Agreas smiled faintly. She then reached out her hand towards the pitch-black ocean from afar, calling upon the authoritative power corresponding to its Chaos true form.

As long as she could sense it, she could simulate and utilize it...

She won!

"Lala... lalala..."

In the next moment, a distant song with indiscernible meaning and tone abruptly drifted from the pitch-black ocean. It sounded like the song of a Siren from ancient legends to lure sailors, yet it was millions of times more terrifying than that song...

What slowly rose from beneath the sea surface was precisely the "property" corresponding to the deity it represented, which was the Authority.

The first to rise was an existence as ethereal as the song, seemingly rising from within Agreas' body.

Following closely was an enormous moon shaped like a ∞, signifying an endless, infinite cycle...

Upon seeing the birth of the second imagery, Agreas' gaze abruptly shrank. Because the appearance of more than one authority was extremely rare. Even during the previous encounter with the source of Life Chaos, she hadn't seen a second one...

In all her long life, the only existence she had seen possessing more than one authority was this world's Chief God, Lord Ramastia. And that time, she nearly lost her life.

She gulped down a mouthful of saliva. An unprecedented ominous premonition suddenly arose. Because when that moon appeared, the restlessness of the deep ocean before her still hadn't ceased.

"Splash!"

In the next moment, countless pale, severed limbs and arms of unknown races and existences slowly floated up, supporting one after another of imageries rising upwards. Even beneath Agreas' feet and in the distant sky, countless faintly flashing eyes and countless mouths speaking words began to appear...

They watched Agreas, awaiting her endless curiosity to explore. But at this moment, Agreas' mind was a blank slate, seemingly filled entirely by everything before her, leaving only terrifying shock and panic...

"What on earth are you..."

"Lala... lalala..."

The tsunami-like song overturned towards her. Being well-versed in this path, Agreas' pupils shrank as her reaction was even faster. In a world of vision briefer than an instant, she violently abandoned this thought to extricate herself. And this was not enough; she hurriedly extended her hand, attempting to cut off and discard that portion of her soul...

Souls could be damaged, an outcome already verified by Anna on the West Continent back then. Those parts transplanted onto her from her sisters contained portions of their soul. Much like a Dragon-kin's Dragon Horn, cutting off that portion from the original body wouldn't lead to death.

At this moment, Agreas made the decisive choice to sever the soul contaminated and locked on by everything she had just seen. A tactic of sacrificing a minor piece to save the leader, and for Mythical Species like them who possessed Body and Soul Unity, it was even simpler...

Yet, she was still a step too late.

"Bang!"

Her entire head exploded violently. Her hands, which had already moved to slice her head off, had plunged into her neck but still failed to stop the invasion of that Chaos until it threw her consciousness into a meat grinder reminiscent of Avici Hell to be tortured.

"Ahhhhhhh!"

"Rumble!"

Even without her head, due to the chaos in her consciousness, mouths and facial features sprouted from her entire body. Her form also began becoming distorted. Suddenly losing all strength, her whole person was shoved by the black mud and smashed into the adjacent rock wall.

Actually, in the previous instances, Agreas originally had better solutions.

If a fully-powered Agreas truly wanted to find an opportunity to slip away from Fisher—whose consciousness was gradually losing control—to go up and find Raphaela, the probability of Fisher successfully stopping her was absolutely not one hundred percent.

It was just that at the critical moment, her old habit of "seeking the bizarre" acted up again. Her nature drove her to continuously approach this mysterious power she had never seen before, exactly as she had been attracted by the Life Usurping power on Tao Gong back then.

What's more, she had successfully researched the Chaos of Usurping Life. At that time, she was careful and fully prepared, finally glimpsing the power behind the chaotic authority. The success gave her confidence, leading her to ignore Fisher, which ultimately brewed this error of fate.

Even if Fisher's body felt terrible, looking at Agreas lying in the cave twitching continuously into the distance, attempting to regenerate her own body but remaining utterly powerless, the tension in his heart finally slowly relaxed. Simultaneously, he suffered the fiercest counterattack from the Chaos.

"Heh... heh..."

He panted heavily. It felt as if countless steel nails had pierced deeply into his brain and stirred around frantically within, plunging him once again into Caleb Uz's despair that was accumulated by countless folds. This feeling of accumulation also dyed his own memories, making him remember extremely clearly the day Teresa died, heading back to the day he broke with Elizabeth in Saint-Nazareth and began his escape...

He covered his face, as if wanting to shed tears. Yet they seemed unlike tears because the despair was too scorching, almost enough to melt his body, making him currently feel both estranged from and blurry about his own body.

But he was still too fragile. Several forceful suppressions failed to hold back his tears. Just as the "tears" were about to fall, Fisher's palm unexpectedly felt that his entire face, facial features included, had begun becoming sticky, turning like a human's tears continuously dripping downwards with gravity.

With the further aggravation of this non-human evolution, he could no longer hold back this extreme agony and despair, about to entrust his consciousness to the Chaos.

The human exterior he had always feigned finally completely dispersed at this moment. Perhaps from the day he started reading the Soul Completion Handbook, from the time he knew the soul within his body started to mutate, he would have foreseen such a day coming. It's just that when this day truly arrived, he only then discovered he had overestimated his endurance limit.

The Chaos within Fisher's body also poured out towards the sides even more incessantly. It covered all the nearby reefs and magma into a black ocean. And his own soul seemed to be continuously undergoing torment within it, prompting even someone as steadfast as him to uncontrollably groan aloud:

"...I'm in so much pain... I'm suffering so much... Who will save me... Ah... I'm so scared... Teresa... Mom..."

As Fisher grew increasingly fragile within the endless black mud surging from his body, that immature voice from the depths of his heart suddenly inappropriately rang out again at this moment in time.

"I'm here. Don't be afraid, my dear..."

Cupid's originally immature, indistinguishable voice became increasingly specific.

As that emotion-filled "my dear" escaped its lips, its vocal cords thus completely overlapped with Helaire's voice. What a pity that the current Fisher could no longer distinguish anything from the outside world, completely unaware that that evil existence had already descended by his side...

Meanwhile, an extremely beautiful face slowly appeared before him from out of that dark ocean. She was unclad yet possessed an exquisite figure; without any jewelry or crowns atop her head. It was as if only her physical body and her soul were here, devoid of anything else.

She was naked. Similar to a green lotus slowly rising from the filthy black mud yet unpolluted by its evil, she merely gently opened her embrace. Wrapping that Fisher who was experiencing pain and despair, completely melting into her arms, allowing the black mud his body turned into tightly stick to her jade-white skin, she nevertheless tightly clung to him.

"Wuuwuu... wuuwuu..."

"Don't be like this... just endure roughly a bit longer and it'll be fine, my dear... Please wait a little bit longer... wait a little bit longer and it'll be fine, my dear..."

Helaire closed her eyes and hugged him tightly. As if she empathized with the suffering going all over his body, even her words trembled as she employed only the absolute gentlest, most benevolent words to comfort his agony-filled soul right now.

Hearing that lullaby-like comforting, the consciousness of Fisher before her also gradually began reviving. Although just a tiny bit, it was still developing towards the better side.

Right now, Agreas was harmed by her own nature with her status of life or death unknown. Barbatos was stalled by Eliog and unable to approach. And Fisher's consciousness was also growing clearer bit by bit...

Everything was going just as beautifully, only what a pity that fortunate destiny wouldn't always bless Fisher...

Because at this very moment, above the Dynasty Portal, a similarly exceptionally anxious, scorching soul was still there about to enter the danger here.

"Fisher?! Are you down there?! What happened to you, don't scare me..."

"Splash, splash, splash!"

Under the sky-filling curtain of rain, after cautiously crossing the storm deployed by Barbatos, Raphaela finally saw that opened Portal. But looking from afar, she could only see a vast stretch of extreme crimson and black taint far away; she couldn't directly see the scene below.

Due to this, she constantly hesitated above. Until she heard the wailing and groaning out of unbearable torment produced by the Chaos-ridden Fisher below.

She hadn't forgotten Eliog's instructions from earlier, but Fisher's groans from below became increasingly intense. Upon hearing him invoke Teresa in such agony, and invoke the "mom" he originally shouldn't have as an orphan, Raphaela's eyes couldn't help but turn red. Unable to endure anymore, she stood up.

The feelings she had for her Tail-Compatible Partner wouldn't allow her to abandon Fisher, absolutely unconditionally, regardless if Eliog had already forewarned her. She had seen with her own two eyes how her mother became melancholic after losing her father. It was like gouging a huge chunk of flesh directly from within her heart.

It was back then Raphaela swore to never let such heart-wrenching loss happen to any of her compatriots again, which was precisely why she fought so hard.

Now that it was her time to make a choice, was she going to turn and flee, doing as told and hiding somewhere unknown, just to watch helplessly as her Tail-Compatible Partner died to protect her?

No...

She couldn't do it!

"Fisher, hold on, I'm coming down right now!"

She struggled so that she could stand equally by his side. She had never forgotten this point from beginning to end!

She summoned her red longspear. Then she disregarded everything and took a step forward, leaping directly towards the deep Demon Dynasty. Even if everything ahead was an unknown, she would still go straight to Fisher's side.

"Rumble!"

Very quickly, enveloped by the heatwave of steam, she plummeted continuously down into this space laid entirely to waste by black mud and battle.

Her pupils shrank slightly. Looking at the bubbling black mud below, a fear originating from the core of her soul spontaneously emerged, urging her to escape quickly. Thus she violently thrust her longspear in mid-air, wedging it entirely onto the rock wall above her.

Utilizing the inertia, she quickly swung her body and nimbly landed on the edge of the Gate of Expression—the spot that had yet to be swallowed by this black mud.

As soon as she landed, she swallowed down a mouthful of saliva, enduring the needle-pricking shivers all over her body. She looked in all directions, calling out loudly,

"Fisher! Fisher, where are you?! I came to find you!"

"Hugh..."

Right then, behind Raphaela, the constantly twitching Agreas weakly grew half a face and a pair of lips. Her brain was a sheet of white. Even though she thoroughly severed and forgot everything she saw earlier, she was still rendered extremely weak because of it, having already sunk into a heavily injured state, incapable of doing anything anymore.

Her newly grown eye swiveled slightly, arduously absorbing the appearance of the Raphaela before her. After a moment of silence, she ridiculed with a smile. She rested her head on the ground, murmuring,

"This is truly... obtaining without any effort..."

"You're a demon?!"

Gritting her teeth, Raphaela violently pointed the longspear in her hands at Agreas lying on the ground, hollering furiously at her,

"Speak! Where is my husband?! If anything untoward has happened to him, I'll make you die without a place for burial!!"

"Hehe, what deep conjugal love you two share... He is right over there..."

Following Agreas' weakly extended finger, Raphaela froze slightly and shifted her head back around to look towards the center area behind her, which had already transformed into an ocean of black mud.

There, she found a human figure incessantly dissolving into black mud in utter disbelief. Seemingly the intuition of a Tail-Compatible Partner, or perhaps due to numerous soul encounters, Raphaela recognized almost instantaneously that human figure was Fisher.

That is to say, is all this black mud over the ground Fisher?

Raphaela's complexion blanched, but her gaze remained tight on the completely naked woman embracing that human figure.

That woman expressionlessly turned her head around to look at Raphaela, then slightly smiled and said,

"Meeting you for the first time, Raphaela..."

Yet Raphaela had already been overwhelmingly infuriated by the appearance of Fisher before her. With a fiery gaze, she raised the longspear in her hands to point at Fisher in the distance. Even casting all caution to the wind regarding the black mud beneath her feet making her intuitively shiver, she roared out loud in full voice towards that phantom,

"You bastard!! What did you do to Fisher?! I will kill you!!"

At this moment, the spearhead bestowed with Dragon God's blood fully blazed with blood-like divine radiance, surging with killing intent to take the head resting atop Helaire's neck.

"You bastard!! What did you do to Fisher?! I will kill you!!"

Raphaela's furious roar before her caused Agreas, who had just grown half a head and hadn't even fully regained her senses, to blankly raise her head. Panting, she arduously dragged her ruined body up, finally seeing the vast, dark ocean of mud before her. Yet right now, it seemed as if a fog had risen over that mud ocean, preventing her from seeing anything clearly...

Or rather, it wasn't that she couldn't see clearly, but more like her originally bizarre-seeking instinct felt fear, refusing to continue observing exactly what kind of existence resided within it.

"Lala... lalala..."

She only felt as if she heard that shiver-inducing song from within. It made her feel terrified, a foreboding premonition rising from the bottom of her heart.

She blankly lowered her head, her brain a blank slate. Yet the Raphaela beside her was already burning with anger, naturally assuming that the beautiful woman before her was the chief culprit causing Fisher to be like this.

With a flourish of her spear, the scales over her body all stood on end, continuously spraying out steam from within.

Yet Helaire in the distance merely embraced Fisher, looking at her coldly. Subsequently, she smilingly said,

"How laughable. The polluted blessing within your body is terrifyingly close to erupting, yet you still have so much energy..."

"Blessing, what blessing? Stop your noise and quickly let Fisher go!!"

Raphaela, however, completely disregarded everything. The veins on her forehead bulged. Gripping the longspear, she fiercely kicked off the ground and leapt into the air. But gazing at the boundless black mud, that trembling sensation originating from the depths of her soul still caused her body to weaken uncontrollably, resulting in the spearhead thrusting towards Helaire becoming somewhat limp.

That crimson flame burned robustly, enveloping the spearhead intending to pierce Helaire's skull. Yet she merely waved her hand gently, and Raphaela's body was tightly bound by countless rays of morning light, tugging her to a halt mid-air.

"Urg!"

Feeling the pull of the morning light, the blood-formed longspear in her hands powerlessly turned to liquid and dripped down. She gritted her teeth, still attempting to tear apart the morning light on her body. However, the disparity in rank was right here. She could only glare fiercely at the smiling Helaire below...

"Your ancestor, the origin of your bloodline, Fafnir, was bestowed a blessing by Dagon derived from his own authority. He could act as the guardian of the Crevice, freely opening the crevice leading to the Spirit World. But thousands of years ago, during the Mythic War, he was killed by a Soul Disaster. The blessing on his body thus detached, circulating along with his bloodline until returning to your body..."

Pinching the morning light, Helaire felt Raphaela's intense fear regarding the black mud near the ground. At this moment, a crimson flame uncontrollably burned on Raphaela's body. Similar to a dazzling sun, it made her soul and Dragon Horns exceptionally eye-catching.

But Helaire merely looked straight at that flame and continued,

"What Fafnir didn't know was that the blessing detached from his body had already been polluted by Chaos, turning into a ticking time bomb capable of igniting the Crevice at any time. The moment that blessing detaches from your body again, it will take effect. Igniting the [Flame of the Soul],貫通ing the passage between the Spirit World and Reality... Originally, half a year and five years ago, it should have been like this..."

Looking at the crimson flame burning on her body, the scenes from her nightmares countless times also seemed to be ignited by the fiery light of the blessing within her body right now.

She suddenly remembered that back in Pherone City, when Pherone intended to use the machinery created with soul technology to plunder her soul, such dazzling firelight similarly erupted from within her body. That firelight originated from her soul...

That was a warning bell, yet it was treated by her as wind past her ears.

Pherone didn't truly want her soul as fuel; rather, he was beguiled by the incompletely grown Soul Chaos within his own body to subconsciously release the polluted blessing of Fafnir.

At that time, she should have died and then burned down the Crevice. But, someone changed her destiny back then...

Raphaela's eyes turned red. Looking at Fisher who had already completely turned into black mud at this moment, she murmured a single sentence, recalling everything he did for her back in Pherone City.

"Fisher..."

"Yes, my poor Fisher didn't know that everything he obtained had its price secretly marked long ago. The destiny that was supposed to be borne by all of you was completely transferred onto his body by that damned fish that escaped the net..."

Even though Helaire still maintained a smile, there was clearly a fake insincere feeling mixed within.

From beneath her feet, a thread of destiny extended from within the countless black mud. That thread stretched straight ahead until it reached its end in annihilation. On this line, her figure faintly flashed, yet it seemed she had never entered this destiny, nor had she ever been discovered by any existence.

She was Helaire, she was Gui, she was Baimon, and just like countless other living beings in this world, there wasn't anything special about her. She merely silently experienced everything, ultimately meeting their end like characters...

Caleb Uz had once mentioned that the Stars were naturally the most devout audience in the world. And the master of souls evidently surpassed any Chaos-kin in this aspect.

Until one day, within the cage of the Sanctuary, she saw an existence even more precious than this world sent back from the future. From that day on, the calm destiny began growing branches like a tree, filling with countless choices.

Yet perhaps to her, the most important choices were only two.

The first was the day she finally penetrated the "Hidden" and discovered that fellow.

That fellow clad in rags with long hair covering his face finally had nowhere left to run under her long pursuit, revealing his true form from beneath the Hidden's cover. He also seemed to abandon fleeing, merely sitting on the ground with a smile, appraising the passing demi-human females with great interest.

That was a fork. One choice would continue forward, while the other would destroy all forks, returning everything to the original simple annihilation.

That day, destiny continued forward. That day, the "fish that escaped the net" was born.

The second was the death of a nun. Only then did she finally locate that treasure embedded within destiny.

That was shortly after Fisher turned eighteen and came of age. Back then, he had just lost his adoptive mother and established a close connection with the prominent princess of the Golden Palace. Much like Adam and Eve secretly tasting the forbidden fruit, they savored unripe romance, forming a continuous connection and vitality with this world desperately waiting for annihilation.

That was similarly a fork, after which lay two different destinies.

In one choice, Fisher never obtained the relic of that fish that escaped the net. His and Elizabeth's romance was destroyed by possessiveness born of estrangement. He wouldn't go to Schwari looking for Witches. He wouldn't go to the Southern Continent looking for Dragon-kin. He wouldn't discover a Whale-kin had infiltrated his school. He wouldn't know Erwind's plans, nor would he know what the Turan family in the Northern Border actually did to find the Base...

He would become the most famous professor in Saint-Nazareth. He would become the hottest human leader in the entire West Continent. He would attract even more women, yet no one would ever walk into his heart.

Then, just like everyone else, welcome the arrival of annihilation in complete ignorance.

Of course, he wouldn't return to the past, bringing destiny back to that calm line either.

Everything would be overturned. Helaire naturally wouldn't be affected, but everything else within the rest of the world would return to the starting point, return to the starting point where he wouldn't be born.

Because he returned to the past, that fish that escaped the net created him.

And once he returned to the past, the goal of that damned fish that escaped the net was achieved, until taking steps towards today.

Those world-destroying knots were all tied onto his body by the fish that escaped the net. Once the destiny of annihilation pushed forward, those agonies falling onto the world, those prices would all fall onto his body...

"Baimon! Is it you?! Are you planning on honoring your promise or not!?"

Just then, from afar, looking at all the foggy black mud, Agreas finally couldn't help but speak out to confirm. Because right now Raphaela entered within, plus she saw Baimon's signature morning light in the fog, so she immediately shouted out.

Raphaela also seemingly regained her senses. Looking at the smiling woman before her, she growled,

"Baimon... it's you! You plotted all this, forcing Fisher to use this kind of power, you..."

"Yes, everything here is because of me. But have you ever thought that very soon it won't just be here, but the entirety of this world..."

Helaire's smile gradually faded, and countless shadows fell upon her expression. That sort of immensely terrifying feeling far exceeded any walking living creature, making Raphaela quickly realize that the existence before her was very possibly far more than simply a demon.

Taking advantage of Raphaela's pause, Helaire pointed at the blazing flame burning endlessly on her body, softly saying,

"Even though you yourself probably couldn't realize it, ever since your escape in Pherone City, the explosion of the polluted blessing within your body was merely a matter of time. Even without Barbatos and Agreas sent by me, one day it would still violently erupt within your body... Barbatos beat you half to death back then and you were perfectly fine, but what about two and a half years later, after seeing Jasmine throw herself into his arms, didn't you dream about it becoming increasingly uncalm?"

Raphaela panted heavily. Only at this moment did the scenes of those plundered dreams surface one by one.

She thought of battling the sky-filling black mud. She thought of the robustly burning anger and fear. Those fluctuated not because of others, but because of herself...

"Bump!"

"I..."

Thinking of this, the blazing flame burning brightly within Raphaela's body grew even more robust, seemingly validating everything the woman before her said.

"Even without me, the blessing within your body will eventually erupt, becoming the gospel initiating annihilation. At that time, he will be incomparably full of regret for losing you. And the remaining five existences glaring greedily at this world will not spare this world either. Guided by that fish that escaped the net, he will also fight those Chaoses with even greater determination... How selfish, Raphaela. How many more times do you want him to endure such pain?"

Raphaela truly hadn't expected that the one making Fisher suffer such agony today would actually be the herself who survived Pherone City more than five years ago.

She did all this to be able to stand equally by his side, wanting to help him. Yet she didn't anticipate that the price she had to pay for surviving was currently all being borne by Fisher.

Looking at the Fisher below who turned into such an appearance, her heart couldn't help feeling incomparable remorse as well. Fafnir's blessing on her body also grew increasingly scorching due to her emotional fluctuations.

Wouldn't it have been better if she had died in Pherone City back then?

"And my fueling the flames like this is merely to create an opportunity. Right now, the Chaos within his body has fully grown, no different from the Chaos that polluted Fafnir back then. It can completely swallow the blessing about to erupt within your body, no longer letting it burn the Crevice, delaying the arrival of annihilation..."

Raphaela's body enveloped by morning light no longer resisted. She merely blankly stared at the gradually expressionless Helaire before her, softly asking,

"Then... the price?"

Helaire smiled faintly. Looking at the Dragon-kin before her, she said,

"Fafnir's blessing is bound to your soul. After its eruption, it will vanish entirely, resulting in your soul being deficient. If 'I' handle it properly, you will survive. But when that time comes, annihilation will arrive, and Fisher will undergo unimaginable trials and torments in the future...

"Conversely, if my Chaos completely swallows it, your soul will thoroughly vanish with it and die. But, the demons will return to the Dynasty, and annihilation will be delayed. And the consciousness of Fisher who cannot accept your death will likely hide. This is also the best opportunity for me to take him away..."

"Where are you going to take him?"

"A place beyond your imagination. Far away from everything here, he will be very safe together with me forever."

"..."

Raphaela was silent for a moment. She lowered her head, letting the scalding tears fall along her cheeks until they dripped into the endless black mud. As if touching Fisher's body, wanting to convey her emotions to him.

But afterward, answering Helaire was merely a simple sentence:

"Then please take him away. Return the destiny I should bear from my lover to me."

"Okay."

Helaire nodded with a beaming smile. Following that, like a black hole, a profound darkness leading to endless dark expanded behind her.

Within it, from the suppression-resisting Great Void, from The Ultimate beyond the Barrier, an illusory, indiscernible song resounded within the hearts of all souls. Right on the heels of that, she released her hand, throwing the morning light-enveloped Raphaela into the black mud.

Raphaela closed her eyes, quietly being thrown into the black mud while enveloped by Fafnir's flame.

"Puchi!"

The moment she touched the black mud, the flame on her body abruptly blazed vigorously, quickly about to transform into a pillar of light piercing the sky. Yet Helaire merely smiled faintly, letting the endless black mud tightly wrap it, burying even those flame light pillars within.

In the distance, Agreas seemed to sense something comparable to a True God rank erupting within that thick fog of black mud. Before joy could even hit her expression, in the blink of an eye she felt that thing being swallowed and corroded.

She froze slightly. Looking at the continuously dissipating flame within the black mud, she powerlessly roared resentfully towards the black fog:

"Baimon!!! You bastard!!"

The extreme pain made Fisher subconsciously want to escape—escape to a place where pain couldn't catch up, escape to an absolutely safe place.

His consciousness thus subconsciously fled towards an unknown direction until he left everything around him behind, turning everything he had experienced into an illusion, consigning it to a bewilderment with an unclear direction.

In such a flight, it was as if he had never obtained the Demi-Human Completion Handbook, and he had absolutely never left Saint-Nazareth.

Then, if that was the case... right before Godolin IX was about to pass away, he should also be unable to suppress the youth he disappointed years ago anymore. Vigorously, he wrote a letter to Elizabeth Gothrin. Just as written in that unsent letter previously, they met again, letting go of all past grudges regarding everything in the past.

Consequently, Dexter naturally ascended to become the Emperor. Dexter also honored the promise of Elizabeth handing over military power, allowing Fisher and Elizabeth to find an auspicious day to wed.

If it was like that, they perhaps should be living very happily right now.

Of course, there were still troubles. As long as it was life, troubles were definitely inevitable.

Fisher Benavides busied himself every day for his papers and various affairs within the Royal Academy. Because after Dexter's succession, this headquarters of the Gryphon Party was handed over to him, the First Imperial Prince Consort of the Empire, to handle.

Elizabeth Gothrin also had conflicts due to many political disagreements with her elder brother. She looked down on her elder brother's hesitation and stupidity on many issues. Meanwhile, her elder brother believed it was time for her to have a child with Fisher rather than interfering with his actions every day. Because of this, they should have quarreled loudly many times. This anger was often brought home by Elizabeth, requiring Fisher to personally comfort her to resolve it.

The years should have been spent like this. Ordinary years passed day by day just like this. Elizabeth still loved Fisher just like when she was eighteen, and Fisher's heart always only housed her alone. Yet for some unknown reason, Fisher always felt as if something was missing within his heart.

Perhaps it was when he asked why Elizabeth's eyes were always so vacant but was smilingly fobbed off by her. Perhaps it was when he returned to the room on the second floor of Ms. Martha's house, he always felt there should be a lingering faint fragrance here, yet he ran through all the perfume shops in Saint-Nazareth but couldn't find the same scent. Or perhaps it was that newly established Saint-Nazareth University; he always felt a sense of familiarity there, but after going there he only bumped into Milika reporting to the school that her roommate had suddenly and inexplicably gone missing...

This kind of feeling made Fisher increasingly lack a sense of security. Subconsciously, he wanted to seek a safe place. Thus following his instinct, he ran back to the place he grew up as a child, that church school, wanting to pray to Teresa within it.

Here it was still the same as before, only that after losing Teresa, everything had become exceptionally desolate. It was originally a secluded place not noticed by many people anyway. Even when Fisher came here, there was only an elderly, hunched priest cleaning up.

That priest seemingly couldn't see him. And Fisher also didn't say anything, merely sitting beneath the Mother Goddess statue, quietly watching the priest turn on the radio while sweeping the floor inside the church.

On the radio, news from all over the world was playing.

Something about mysterious phenomena appearing in Pherone City on the Southern Continent, scaring the city lords within a hundred miles radius to hurriedly flee back to the West Continent, burdened with their families; something about the First Pioneer Blake mysteriously disappearing, his whereabouts unknown; something about a mysterious giant creature appearing in the coastal waters; something about the Turan family of the Sema Mountains in the Northern Border suddenly having their entire clan annihilated overnight...

But Fisher paid no attention to this. He perhaps felt it was familiar, but also felt it had nothing to do with him, just like the bizarre foreign anecdotes in tabloid newspapers, not even as curiosity-inducing as the explosive magic recently researched by Schwari.

He didn't want to think about anything right now. He just wanted to hide here like this, because only here made him feel safe, just like hiding in Teresa's embrace, carefree and without worries when he was little.

It wasn't until an unknown time that the old priest finally stopped the work in his hands. Shutting off the radio, he handed a Holy Maiden brand cigarette from his pocket to the head-lowered Fisher.

Fisher froze slightly. He raised his head and looked at the cigarette handed over by that old priest. After hesitating for a moment, he reached out to take it anyway, saying a word of "thank you."

"Ssss..."

The frictional sound of a match quietly rang out, lighting the cigarettes in both Fisher's and that old priest's mouths, burying their thoughts entirely within a cloud of smoke.

Along with that tobacco fragrance, Fisher's consciousness seemingly sobered up bit by bit. That pain spreading deep into his soul, that fear of helplessly watching his body turn into mud bit by bit... all made him harbor lingering trepidation even now.

Previously, he had experienced these agonies countless times. It was still somewhat manageable when battling Pherone on the Southern Continent. When confronting Blake, his life force had been drained like a candle in the wind. When fighting a decisive battle to the death with Erwind, he was chased by Death in a precarious situation where life hung by a thread...

During those various times, he had never flinched. But now, when that Chaos fully bloomed within his body, making him so agonized he wished he could die immediately, he truly felt afraid.

He was a living breathing person. Since he was a living breathing person, it was inevitable to have misgivings in his heart. He would also be scared, and he would hide his consciousness here because he didn't want to experience the agony from earlier again.

For a split second, he even thought that maybe it would be better if he hadn't obtained the Demi-Human Completion Handbook and was together with Elizabeth just like just now...

He smoked a cigarette after a long absence. Staring at the burning flame at the end of the cigarette, he couldn't help but ask,

"I'm thinking, if I had never left Saint-Nazareth, would it not be so painful?"

The priest coughed and didn't look at him, merely saying,

"Actually, you don't need to view them so heavily. Even if you've had physical relationships with them, abandoning them is not out of the question."

Fisher gave a bitter smile and said,

"Wouldn't that be too unconscionable?"

"When you initiated a new relationship with another female before the previous one was severed, did you not consider this word?"

Fisher took a drag of his cigarette. After thinking for a moment, he said with certainty,

"...This is all the fault of the Demi-Human Completion Handbook."

"You kid..."

The priest gave a "hehe" laugh but didn't say anything else. He only said,

"You know, actually I am very similar to you. Or rather, the feeling should be very similar. It's just that back then, I chose to abandon them, all of them... Because you should know, the moment a person can see the memories of their past lives, you instantaneously become 'that person' of every life. Therefore, when I found out that 'that person' in my every life had a destined fate, that agony also accumulated over thousands and tens of thousands of lives, almost crushing me and making me feel utter despair..."

Changing the subject, the priest turned his head slightly to look at Fisher, revealing that golden hairstyle completely sparse under the black robe resembling a receding hairline, as well as blue eyes.

"But looking at it conversely... if 'that person' in every life is you, then you are also not 'that person' in every life... So, in the end, I came to terms with it. My dead wife and daughter in this life, my dead younger sister and elder brother in my past life, my dead Tail-Compatible Partner in the life before last, my dead Symbiotic Heterogeneous Soul Body in the life before that... they have nothing to do with me. I will abandon them all, discard them..."

Many bizarre, proprietary terminologies seemingly derived from certain civilizations outside the world spilled from the mouth of this "priest" before him. After Fisher pondered for a moment, he couldn't help but ask with a smile anyway,

"So, what happened to you in the end, Caleb Uz?"

Caleb Uz chuckled 'hehe', taking a fierce drag of his cigarette. Spreading his hands, he said,

"Went crazy."

"Went crazy?"

"Yeah, turned into that puddle of black mud, wreaked havoc in the Dragon Court, and then completely passed away... But you should know, the me at that time already had no choices. Whether I abandoned them or not, I had already reached the end... Time cannot be reversed; the regrets of this life can already no longer be remedied, let alone the regrets of the past life, or even a hundred past lives."

Everything around began to turn transparent, as if outside this church here, there was nothing but that mud making Fisher incomparably tremble with fear. And this also reminded him that he still hadn't escaped the suffering here.

At this moment, the church pushing from all directions began to become precarious. The statue of the Mother Goddess collapsed at the sound. From the ground, a passage leading underground opened up, from which came an indescribable song, exactly like a lullaby a mother uses to coax a child to sleep...

Fisher's body trembled slightly. Having been tortured by that black mud, he subconsciously wanted to get up and flee towards the church's underground, fleeing towards somewhere even deeper.

But the next moment, going through the gradually transparent peripheral of the church, he watched helplessly as a figure enveloped in crimson also plummeted into this stretch of black mud, being entangled tighter and tighter by the black mud, about to swallow everything on her body.

"Rapha... ela..."

Fisher's movement of wanting to escape paused slightly. Aided by that terrifying black mud, as if piercing through his soul, he very quickly saw Raphaela's dazzling soul that shone brightly like the sun, and also saw a bizarre connection with the Spirit Realm.

In Fisher's line of sight, he saw the dazzling radiance at Raphaela's lower abdomen, indicating to Fisher that a life was forming there.

Fisher looked at Raphaela sinking deeper and deeper into the black mud in complete disbelief. At this moment, he finally realized exactly where that one child mentioned by Caleb Uz in the Completion Handbook came from earlier...

"How is it, very beautiful right? The appearance of the Spirit World's Sea of Souls locking onto the maternal body... Unfortunately, when my wife was carrying my daughter, I was still busy with work and didn't have the abilities of the Soul Completion Handbook... I couldn't see if there would be such fluctuations inside her body at that time..."

"..."

Fisher looked back towards Caleb Uz, looking at him as he so painfully and enviously watched the falling Raphaela within the black mud. Perhaps, his present life, all his past lives, his soul that had undergone such a long journey were all waiting to return to this moment, return to the moment right before losing everything...

Perhaps Caleb Uz was right; the time of his and all his past lives could no longer be salvaged.

Only unfortunately, Fisher didn't have past lives, and he wasn't Caleb Uz either...

He still had a chance to salvage. And right now, he absolutely had to return.

Inside the Dynasty, Helaire thus watched the black mud drag Raphaela, who faced death as returning home, into it. With a wave of her hand, countless black mud overtopped, enveloping the robustly burning flame on her body. Just that simultaneously, that black mud was also pervasively eroding her soul.

"Urg... Ah..."

But right at this moment, behind Helaire, from within that black mud... that Fisher who was tortured by agony until completely losing consciousness unexpectedly started to tremble again.

She froze slightly, lowering her head to look at Fisher who continuously wailed, entirely turned into a sticky body but attempting to control it to stand up. She hurriedly reached out to support him, wanting to block him and put his consciousness back into the depths again,

"Fisher, don't move anymore. It'll be over soon, you..."

Yet the next moment, Fisher gritted his teeth and pressed one hand onto Helaire's hand. Amidst her somewhat unbelievable gaze, he violently pushed her away from his side, tossing her into the stretch of mud he had turned into.

"Thump!"

"Urgahhhhh!"

Helaire widened her eyes, watching him utter a tragic wail just by making such a movement. He lowered his head. Having completely lost his human appearance, even if he wanted to open his mouth to wail, it was a sound issued by the entire black ocean together.

They simply narrated their own pain, continuously roaring hoarsely, attempting to use the habits from when they were human to dispel this pain that reached the extreme limit.

But this was, after all, a pain originating from the soul. No matter how Fisher wailed, it couldn't change it. Therefore, he could only simultaneously roar hoarsely while using his last bit of consciousness to walk towards Raphaela's side step by step.

"Ra... Rapha... huff... huff..."

He completely failed to realize his current state. Because regardless of whether looking from a human's perspective or a soul's perspective, he had already turned into a stretch of black mud. Due to the pain and this grotesque, bizarre appearance, it was easy to get confused about what was what. He only continually used the part that still resembled a 'human' to get closer towards the scorching hot place, wanting to fish Raphaela who plunged into the black mud up.

Helaire just sat there in the black mud that became increasingly turbulent due to his movements, gritting her teeth while helplessly watching him step by step walk towards the place where Fafnir's blessing burned.

"Fisher..."

Yet Fisher already had no time to mind anything else. Even just walking a step or two, his entire black mud body slipped and fell due to the pain, melting once again and merging into this stretch of black mud.

However, a few seconds later, like a drowning child, he violently leaped out a thing with an outline resembling a 'human' from the black mud with a wail, then struggled to walk towards that side.

He carefully controlled those black muds swallowing Raphaela to not swallow her soul anymore. Then very quickly he finally arrived at that place. He was unable to wait to extend his "hand" to fish her out, but he forgot that right now he was this ocean of black mud. Consequently, every time he extended his "hand" into it to fish her, his "hand" would dissolve within it, utterly unable to penetrate down, even pushing Raphaela a lot further within.

He wailed, wanting to try again. But behind him, that cold-faced Helaire had unknowingly appeared behind his back. She violently reached out a hand and grabbed that Fisher who had finally made it to Raphaela's side.

Perhaps she understood. The current Fisher couldn't even recognize herself and others. Yet he merely relied on sensing Raphaela's aura to so resolutely awaken his consciousness back and once again throw himself into this suffering?!

But the next moment, right when she tightly gripped Fisher, she also very quickly felt that all the surrounding black mud began to squirm, along with this portion grasped in her hand, violently gathering towards the center.

Yes, the Fisher tortured until his mind was unclear finally realized that originally this spreading black mud was part of himself. And right now he was attempting to withdraw all the black mud back into his body.

Helaire just wanted to raise her hand to stop it, but from within that black mud, apart from Fisher's agonizing wails, she heard a different sound.

"You cannot die... Raphaela..."

She suddenly remembered ten thousand years ago, when she purposely lay in that stretch of black mud to help him dispel Death, perhaps she also hadn't anticipated he would so resolutely leap down to save herself. And back then, when making contact with him via the same Sea of Chaos, passing through his hoarse and exhausted shouts... what Helaire heard from his pure soul devoid of past lives back then was similarly this one sentence:

"You cannot die, Helaire."

Within Helaire's dispersed pupils, terrifying Stars abruptly ruptured, seemingly wanting to swallow this world.

But on the surface, after a long time, the hand she raised was abruptly lowered. She just quietly stood in this black ocean, helplessly watching it gather painstakingly towards Fisher bit by bit.

Upon returning from the deep layers of consciousness, Fisher's soul could only simply consider two things.

The former was pain, almost boundless pain.

Because the essence of that black mud was actually a certain Chaos forming the Base of a certain existence using his body, guiding a terrifying power towards the outside of the Spirit World's Ultimate. Therefore, it represented the most absolute Chaos, desiring to smash everything else on Fisher's body, body and soul...

And the latter was purely the conviction to save Raphaela.

Using this as the entirety of his thoughts right now, disregarding gains and losses, risking everything just to achieve this goal. Only in this way could he maintain basic movement amidst the pain. Otherwise, if the goal wasn't clear, the moment he felt that endless agony, Fisher would likely flinch and even give up in the end.

Therefore, Fisher was actually completely unaware of Helaire's hesitating to speak on the outside right now, nor did he even have time to ponder how Raphaela arrived here. He could only think about saving Raphaela and his child in her womb right now.

But currently, no matter how he wanted to fish up Raphaela in the dark amidst the endless pain, it was all to no avail. Because the black mud trapping Raphaela right now was himself. Every time he wanted to extend a "hand" to fish her out, he would unwillingly discover his hands dissolved within it, utterly unable to save her...

What could be done about this?!

Even if a second of time passed right now, Fisher's heart would be extremely anxious, because it also meant Raphaela had to endure such suffering below for another second. At the thought of this point, Fisher could even ignore the pain he himself was currently enduring, wanting to exchange this for a method to save Raphaela.

"Do you know you are very special?"

It was right at this moment that such a phrase, said to him by others more than once, suddenly surfed his mind, pointing out a possible path for him like an inspiration.

Then, where was his uniqueness?

He could read more than one Completion Handbook, and could even directly face the authority of Destiny to change everything and return to the past. Even when Renee's power directly erupted at his chest, he didn't die?

Wait, if even when Renee's power erupted inside his body he didn't die, then by analogy, shrinking a Chaos of the same nature and rank into his own body, and then letting it erupt within his body, could transfer its outward effect from Raphaela's body onto his own body!

The moment this idea sprouted, Fisher immediately wanted to put it into practice. Because time couldn't be delayed even a little; staying inside any longer, Raphaela and her unborn child might both be in trouble...

But when it truly came down to doing it, he realized just how difficult and painful it actually was.

Right now, this black mud spreading outward approximately a hundred meters also to some extent spread outward the pain he could feel. However, once he retracted it by one meter, the pain multiplied exponentially. Just when initially doing so, he couldn't help but roar hoarsely, and his originally unclear consciousness became even more unclear.

"Huff, huff... huff..."

He collapsed fiercely onto the ground, yet still unceasingly retracted the black mud, containing it within his own body.

"So, this is your punishment for me, right? I still owed you a punishment, and this is how you are claiming it back, right, Fisher?"

Despite professing to be strong and having reached the age of thirty, under such torture Fisher was fragile as a baby in swaddling clothes. He merely wanted to cry, and even wanted to find a weapon to kill himself on the spot. But he suddenly remembered the words Raphaela spoke to him back then while holding back tears.

He indeed felt guilty, he indeed caused all this due to his greed, he indeed was insatiable, and needed to repay all this.

Even now, when he recalled that just moments ago he even harbored the thought of "would it be better if there wasn't the Demi-Human Completion Handbook", he felt even more guilty. Because if he didn't do so, she would have died in Pherone City back then, and everyone else would die as well, while he remained completely oblivious to it...

He didn't dare speak recklessly that his feelings for her were love, because this word was truly far too noble, making his acceptance of another's actions seem so unworthy of virtue. So he could only frequently harbor a sense of indebted owing.

Owing her, owing her mother...

That intense pain distanced bit by bit, as if dispelled by the scorching heat in his heart. Within the increasingly persevering black mud, a "human figure" kneeling on the ground grew increasingly obvious, just like Fisher's soul—a human.

Within the black mud, the waves were turbulent, while he acted like a whirlpool, desperately contending against it regardless of everything.

"Splash, splash... splash..."

From all directions, the rhythmic and measured sound of sea waves crashing against the shore layered upon one another, much like an enemy yet also like a lover gazing at the existence contending against It.

However, Fisher was truly in too much pain. He was truly suffering too much. That painstakingly formed "human figure" uncontrollably crawled on the ground, hollering with a crying tone. Yet he didn't dare stop the process of accommodating the black mud, only able to chew and swallow down this feeling...

"Wuuuu..."

He reached out and grasped the ground, his head a stretch of Chaos, yet he suddenly couldn't think of how to awaken his consciousness...

Right, if Raphaela and I would have a child, then it must definitely be a Dragon-kin... Hmm, although human blood flows in the body, cross-species reproduction generally takes after the mother's species more. Fisher had done considerable research on this.

Then, if it were his own child, what name should he give it?

Unlike humans, Dragon-kin could have different colored scales. Would it inherit its mother's unique crimson scales, or would it become extremely plain, no different from ordinary Dragon-kin?

Hmm, this was fine too. If it was a little boy, giving him the name Goncalo might not be bad either. This was the name of the human philosopher Fisher favored most during his childhood; a little girl would be called Anaïs, which was also the name of a philosopher...

In Nazarene tradition, the more one revered a person, then naming a child after them might gain all their virtues.

However, according to Dragon-kin traditions, his or her name should have an 'el' at the end...

Moreover, according to Dragon-kin traditions, their names should be designated by the elder of the Myriad Flower Court, namely Yali'er.

This was too unfair. Did his own child not even have the right to be given a name?

"Huff... wuuuu..."

Fisher's figure grew increasingly distorted and trembled. His train of thought was once again interrupted by such pain. Following another contraction of that spreading black mud, his consciousness also seemingly felt the gaze of a certain existence, seemingly far away as if from beyond the Ultimate of the Spirit World, yet also seemingly close at hand.

"..."

Fisher recognized [It], because It had appeared when he advanced to the Mythic Rank. Its appearance was always accompanied by an indescribable song that seemed to originate from the Great Void. But right now those songs came to an abrupt end, seemingly indicating It was in a bad mood at this moment.

Did gods also experience moods?

Fisher didn't know either. Or rather, because he couldn't come in contact, his knowledge of everything about the gods could only be conjecture. Just like he conjectured Ramastia was an old grandma who loved losing her temper, after all It once transformed into a water snake and sprayed water at him...

But that existence was genuine [Chaos], an Outer God glaring like a tiger from beyond the Ultimate. Furthermore, according to the authority division of the Soul Completion Handbook, It should be...

Ocean.

"Uhrrrrghhh!!"

Yet even so, Fisher still consecutively carried out the actions with his hands, desiring to release Raphaela from the black mud.

His human figure became increasingly obvious. Even the blurry yet incredibly ferocious facial features had transformed into a discernible appearance. Right at his chest, a gap resembling a black hole was continuously drawing in the surrounding Chaos.

Hurry... all inside my body...

Like this...

"Buzz buzz buzz!!"

Amidst countless tinnitus sounds, Fisher's vision was already close to turning white, even generating the illusion of Teresa coming from Heaven to fetch him.

The Ocean just quietly looked at him, not making a move to snatch this black mud Base from him. It simply let him swallow that Base into his own body bit by bit. And Raphaela, who had already sunk into the bottom of the black mud, finally saw the light of day at this moment, revealing her pale face that seemed to have completely lost its body temperature...

Before joy could even arise in Fisher's heart, upon her body, the flame that had been suppressed by the black mud intending to destroy it finally tore into the sky uncontrollably, rushing straight towards the nothingness above.

"Rumble!"

The Portal above was instantly completely destroyed, but the distance from the underground to the sky was as if non-existent to that flame. It just continued to ascend like this. Wherever it went began to burn, as if wanting to burn everything outside the space to ashes...

What was burning right now was precisely Dagon's domain sheltering this world outside reality: the Crevice.

"Boom!!"

That illusory flame tearing into the sky quickly spread beyond the upper airspace, slowly and continuously expanding above the Southern Continent. The Flame of the Soul finally ignited at this moment, scorching all the dark clouds that originally filled the sky. But what was revealed wasn't a clear sky, but rather a scarlet mist that seemed to drift outside the universe...

"Kononinnihamugasmujin s, mu shuj smu hisashi mono s gaarimasu"

Below, the people who were already driven by the gale of that Mythic Rank were terrified that the flame would burn them, or they thought this was some bizarre natural disaster. But after that flame passed through them and transformed into a ring of fire on the firmament, slowly expanding outwards, they didn't feel any pain. It merely seemed a void ravings descending from the sky echoed in their hearts, making them all shiver with fear, craning their necks staring at the scarlet mist seemingly outside the universe and gulping down a mouthful of saliva...

"What on earth... is that?"

"Buzz, buzz, buzz!"

Within the dense haze of the scarlet mist, countless specks of starlight were flashing with dangerous light, as if a certain existence light-years away also noticed the anomaly here and commenced movement...

But at this moment, the living creatures below remained completely unaware of this. Even the very center where the disaster occurred knew nothing about the specific situation above.

Because, trailing the release of that blessing and Raphaela by Fisher, he hadn't fully contained the Base within his body when he watched helplessly as the burning blessing tore Raphaela's soul apart. Then the Flame of the Soul still continuously burned Raphaela's soul, bringing her to the brink of death.

"No... no... Raphaela..."

Fisher, whose entire body was still mutating consecutively, looked at the Raphaela before him whose Dragon Horns were vanishing and whose blood gradually began to turn blue. The panic of losing her resurged in his heart again, making the incompletely contained Chaos within his body grow even more restless.

He helplessly extended his hand, wanting to prevent that Flame of the Soul from burning Raphaela's soul. But upon extending his hand, his own hands were still filled with that terrifying black mud, making him no longer dare to move forward in fear of adding frost to snow.

"Fisher, focus on yourself, I will help her."

But at this moment, right beside him, a holy figure clad in white robes with bare feet abruptly spoke softly. This instantly calmed the chaotic Fisher down. Turning his head, passing the black mud still surging on his face, he saw the somewhat complex-looking Helaire.

"Helaire, you... Urg!!"

Before he could finish his words, he felt the black mud still continuously surging out from his seven orifices. He also knew Helaire was right and could only choose to trust her, dedicating all his attention to the Chaos currently in his body.

Meanwhile, Helaire raised her brow, lowering her head evaluating Raphaela whose soul grew increasingly weak, yet acting extremely slow to make a move.

From under the long golden eyelashes, her aloof condescending gaze was like a deity judging everything, determining the destiny of every soul...

"Sizzle... sizzle..."

"Uhrrrrghhh!"

Her fingers continuously tapped, watching that Flame of the Soul move toward its end bit by bit like the burning fuse of a bomb. However, Fisher's intense furious roar of tearing against the Chaos in his body coming from behind made the movements in her hands come to an abrupt end.

The next moment, she fiercely raised her right hand and aimed it at the Raphaela below her.

For some unknown reason, a portion of a golden soul originating from nowhere serendipitously appeared in her hand. It was smoothly extracted by her utilizing terrifying mighty power from a certain individual sharing the same bloodline as Raphaela.

Also within the palm of her hand at this moment, the traces belonging to "Yali'er" were being erased bit by bit, very quickly surprisingly transforming into soul power with a shape similar to Fafnir and Raphaela's souls.

Immediately after, Helaire coldly waved her hand with a cold face, and the soul flame burning on Raphaela's body vanished instantly. Subsequently, with another tap of her finger, that pure soul power filled Raphaela's body. Allowing her, whose blood had originally turned blue, to gradually revert to its normal color, and causing her to violently start panting heavily, alleviating the pain of the soul burning within her body.

Raphaela, whose soul already possessed Fafnir's blood, also grew even stronger at this moment. Her body trembled slightly, as if faintly sensing some sort of契机 (opportunity). Countless powers matching the rules of this world burst forth from her body, impelling her precarious soul to link with her physical body until it finally merged into one...

This was the omen of a Mythic phenomenon occurring.

"..."

But Helaire completely lost the desire to look at Raphaela anymore. She merely turned around to look at the Fisher gritting his teeth tightly hugging his own body, retracting that black mud tighter and tighter.

Strangely, at this very moment, that Chaos which was incompatible with all the rules of the world and other authorities surprisingly merged with him bit by bit while he underwent life-and-death extreme torment, as if becoming a part of his body and slowly vanishing in a state where it couldn't be detected...

"Uhrrrrghhh!!"

He could no longer control himself and roared aloud, sinking absolutely everything into his own body until it was compressed into Fisher himself. A formless soul fluctuation violently erupted from his body, transmitting over ten thousand miles.

At this moment, far away on the West Continent, within the borders of Kadu, inside an unknown deep space... a place outlined with countless golden ropes and hung full with countless bells seemingly also sensed this formless fluctuation. Suddenly, all the bells in the hall shook violently, emitting a highly ear-piercing sound that simultaneously awakened the consciousness resting in this location.

"Ding ding ding ding ding!!"

The faint blue Cardinal light lit up. A grotesque cylindrical machine raised its round head, appraising its surroundings for a moment before speaking in an emotionless mechanical voice,

"Miss Ashley, David No. 2 reminds you, the bells you set up have detected a fluctuation, specific location: Southern Cont..."

"Shut up..."

"Okay, Miss Ashley."

"..."

Looking closely along the direction of the voice, at the end of the countless golden long ropes, a woman wearing a white long robe stood in place, quietly feeling the sway of those bells behind her head...

Yes, those golden long ropes were all her extended long hair.

Standing in front of this mysterious female was an extremely antique giant stone stele engraved with six different languages. The topmost, largest ones were two stone steles, while beneath them were still four pieces.

The content of the two pieces above was sequentially: [Sea of Souls], [Scarlet Dream Illusion].

And the four pieces below consecutively contents were: [Usurped Vessel], [Chaotic Guidance], [End of Impurity], [Spreading Non-Self].

A crystal-clear luster flickered on every stone stele. Yet at this moment, under the chaotic sway of myriad bells, the piece [Sea of Souls] on the top left suddenly became dim.

The woman sitting before the stone stele froze slightly, subsequently lowering her head, as if her facial features hidden under the golden long hair all began to tremble.

Before this extremely empty stone stele with roughly several specks of golden light flickering, she softly said,

"Asuka... have you seen..."

"... Miss Ashley, the President definitely cannot see it. Reasons are as follows: her status of life or death is still unknown. She's highly probably alive, but also possibly dead. If dead, she definitely cannot see it; and if she's alive, she's not here, also definitely cannot see it. To summarize..."

"Noisy!"

"... Do you need David No. 2 to not speak?"

"..."

Inside the Dynasty's Gate of Expression at this very moment, Fisher, who had ultimately integrated the black mud into his body bit by bit, felt the Chaos that eventually silenced inside his body. Only after repeatedly confirming it wouldn't overflow again did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Yet the sensation brought by those injuries still lingered on his body, but he hurriedly lowered his head disregarding everything to look at the Raphaela below him. Sensing that her current aura was healthy and seemed to be undergoing transformation bit by bit, he finally put his mind somewhat at ease.

But this was not over yet. He hurriedly turned his head to look at Helaire beside him who still looked at himself expressionlessly. It was she who rescued Raphaela's burning soul.

Looking at her at this moment, Fisher's throat surged slightly, and his voice also grew extremely husky. Just as he was about to speak...

"Helaire, I..."

"Rumble!"

Right then, inside the Dynasty suddenly shook fiercely again. Both Fisher and Helaire's expressions changed at the same time. No other reason, because Fisher right now felt an extremely familiar feeling again.

Death...

And it was an erupting Death!!

It was practically identical to that time in the Ideal State, and was even more manic!

Just what exactly was going on?

Helaire frowned and looked up, and Fisher also followed her gaze upwards, violently seeing a void door wide open for some unknown reason, seemingly representing the loosening of a certain seal.

It was the door leaf of the Gate of Expression!

"Hahahaha, I succeeded!! I can die!! Hahahaha!!"

And within that illusory door, a haggard figure wrapped in bandages all over with a crazed expression was stepping out of the door with an excited face, looking at his own masterpiece with satisfaction.

"Solomon..."

"Not good, that foolish fellow shockingly opened all ten doors!! Death is going to awaken!"

"No... I..."

Hearing Helaire's extremely serious voice, Fisher just wanted to get up to stop it. But before standing up, he felt his strength drained. His eyes rolled back and his body went limp, falling into unconsciousness and collapsing to the side.

Helaire also smoothly reached out and gently caught his limp body, catching him into her embrace, tightly embracing him.

However on the surface, her initially "totally unexpected" expression in front of Fisher also vanished instantly, transforming into a somewhat complexly meaningful calm.

"Rumble!"

The entire Demon Dynasty trembled before the imminent awakening Death. Helaire princess-carried the completely unconscious Fisher, simultaneously accompanied by illusory morning light shining behind her as she dragged the Raphaela advancing to Mythical Rank toward the edge of the Gate of Expression.

The next moment, all the magma in the Dynasty boiled over, indicating the terror that had slumbered beneath them for ten thousand years was awakening.

"Cough, cough... Baimon..."

Helaire hugged Fisher expressionlessly, dragging the levitating Raphaela beside her while walking, completely failing to notice the Demon God Agreas lying heavily injured by black mud on the ground.

Right now she clutched her ruined body, slowly sitting up from the ground. She first glared resentfully at the Raphaela behind her, saying while gnashing her teeth,

"You lied to us. That blessing on this Dragon-kin's body... couldn't help us obtain freedom... conversely, it actually even... burned the Crevice!! Right now the outer Crevice is slowly collapsing... what on earth do you want to do, Baimon?! Cough, cough, cough..."

The Helaire carrying Fisher prevented Agreas from seeing her expression clearly for a while. Not until several seconds later did she smile, looking at Agreas like a holy angel and saying,

"Yeah, I lied to you."

"... You animal..."

Agreas clutched her own body, cursed like so, then gritted her teeth looking at her and continued,

"You took it upon yourself to open the ten gates and let Death reappear... You... earlier... used another Dragon-kin's soul to repair this Red Dragon-kin's soul... and you even used... a power beneath a True God... to dispel the soul fire of the blessing combustion on her body... these things... even a Demigod couldn't accomplish easily... your mastery over souls... is even greater than Dagon... Just what kind of thing are you?!"

"You misjudged, Agreas."

"Hehe, hope so..."

Agreas sneered coldly, subsequently glaring coldly at the smiling Helaire and continuing relentlessly, "Then what about Fisher? You doing all this was for him? But the result was helplessly watching him give everything for this Dragon-kin who isn't even at Mythical rank? He was even willing to die for her than conform to your will! The two of us were only utilized by you for four and a half years, but what about you? What you awaited and prepared for during these thousands of years... has now entirely turned into an illusion... how ironic, cough cough..."

"..."

Helaire looked at her with a fake smile, while Agreas got angry and was about to continue speaking. Yet the next second, her figure disintegrated instantly, chopped apart in an instant from neck, four limbs, to lower abdomen.

Her hesitating to speak head instantly fell onto the ground, rolling countless turns before maintaining a highly shocked and horrified expression while being dragged by illusory morning light and flying back in front of Helaire.

"You..."

With Agreas' fame of "bizarre-seeking", she stunningly had absolutely no idea what attacked her, causing her current injuries. She was only furiously dragged by morning light to Helaire's front, hearing Helaire speak softly,

"... Still thinking about your true nature at this point? Thought infuriating me meant I would demonstrate the power you've never seen before to you?"

Agreas froze slightly. Afterwards, the anger on her face also dissipated bit by bit, changing into a calm appearance. She sneered, saying sarcastically,

"What else then? Suppressing the Chaos unfurling from his body to bloom that blessing meant I already knew it was meaningless. Only, back then Barbatos and I... no, there probably wasn't a single person in this world who could anticipate you would be this kind of thing. Or rather... no one could survive after knowing it, right? Rather than this, it would be better to satisfy my own nature one last time before dying..."

Helaire pondered for a bit, shaking her head and saying,

"Not necessarily. One person had previously escaped from my hands. Even though I let her leave, it was also falling into her open scheme with no other choice..."

"Oh, I'm truly somewhat curious as to who that is?"

"Is this also within the realm of your bizarre-seeking?"

Helaire looked at her with a beaming smile, didn't answer her directly, only continuing,

"To me, there is no death, souls merely reincarnate, and it is the same for you... However, you also indeed won't 'die', because I still need you bunch to help me suppress Chaos, even if nominally..."

Agreas said no more, because at this moment, her destiny originally no longer belonged to her own control. She gave a fiendish laugh lastly, "blessing" Helaire,

"You scum..."

Helaire waved her hand at her, as if saying goodbye. Subsequently, countless morning light poured down, throwing all her limbs and head—partitioned by an unknown power into countless pieces—into that magma, transforming anew into a pillar of fire of the Dynasty.

But this was drinking poison to quench thirst in the end. Right now, even if all the Demon Gods took their places, it couldn't suppress back the Death that was oppressed for so long anymore.

The shaking of the entire Dynasty grew increasingly violent, until a fire pillar soaring to the sky shot out from that magma, entirely breaking through the ground above the Dynasty, allowing the aura of Death to gradually spread out.

Looking at that soon-to-awaken authority of Death, Helaire still appeared unhurried. Perhaps in her eyes, a disaster like this right now already didn't count for much.

Because annihilation had already begun.

Above, on the outer side of the Crevice that was burned apart bit by bit, that dense scarlet aura continuously surged, from which countless gazes seemingly aimed towards a certain spot in the Dynasty below.

And beyond the Ultimate, that obscure song once again drifted across the Ultimate.

"Lala... lalala..."

Only this time, its meaning became exceptionally obvious, letting all existences within the Spirit World hear that familiar pulsation. That was a curse that had lingered around this world since ten thousand years ago, yet wasn't finally staged until today...

That song glorified,

"The Flame of the Soul will ignite first, incinerating everything in the world with the flames of war."

At this moment, down in the Gate of Knowledge region of the Dynasty, within Baimon's palace, the expression of the Death Minister Holland appeared exceptionally solemn compared to his past looseness.

For no other reason, it was precisely because of Jasmine before him.

Ever since she just touched this Base and began manipulating its power to release Eliog's main body from the Mother Goddess's seal, her condition became increasingly bizarre. Her entire person seemed to be grabbed by that scarlet power and unable to break free. Her originally azure long hair also began to be dyed pitch-black, and countless black lines appeared on her face, making her look exceptionally frightening.

Initially, Holland thought it was because she needed to wholeheartedly control the Base that Jasmine couldn't move. But very quickly he discovered the Base's power was incessantly eroding Jasmine's body, prompting him to involuntarily speak up as a reminder,

"Lord Priest, this Base is..."

"I know. But, if I stop, Demon God Eliog's seal might re..."

Jasmine's slender eyelashes trembled rapidly like butterfly wings. Yet at this moment her small face was deathly pale. Mid-sentence, she was overwhelmed by the chilling sensation within her body again. She hurriedly lowered her head, only then saying,

"I don't know what exactly the situation above is like, and also Teacher Fisher's condition also... therefore, at least we must wait until there's definite news, or they return."

Eimhart flew back and forth anxiously. Seeing Jasmine's fair arms quickly covered with scarlet, he couldn't help but say through gritted teeth,

"That guy Fisher definitely owes you guys. Oh my, this won't do, I'm going out to see what exactly is going on outside! That thousand-cuts deserving Baimon definitely..."

"..."

Looking at Jasmine, Holland also seemed emotionally touched. But quickly, he turned his head to look outside, as if sensing a certain aura,

"This is..."

"Rumble!"

"What's going on, why did it start shaking like this again? Isn't the fighting above, why does the feeling come from underground?!"

Holland's expression was somewhat blank. Feeling that aura constantly leaking from the ground, his body that had already lost its conclusion also seemingly felt that aura, experiencing a long-absent tremble...

It's Death.

He uncontrollably walked out of the palace, looking up at the magma above. Very quickly, he saw an open "door leaf" in mid-air, as if the breaking of a certain seal had gently awakened the terror suppressed at the bottom of the Dynasty.

"What?! Which animal did this?! Gate of Knowledge, no... not just the Gate of Knowledge, this shaking feeling, could some idiot have opened all ten gates?!!"

Square Eimhart flew out. Looking at the wide-open door leaf above, he became exceptionally panic-stricken, flying back and forth like a headless fly,

"It's all over now. Originall, it was troublesome enough for Fisher to deal with those guys above. Even adding Eliog to the mix, he's probably no match. Now it's even more heavyweight, why was Death also released? Isn't this just adding to the chaos!?"

Only then did Holland regain his senses from that enraptured feeling. Yet his long-calm soul faintly felt a certain opportunity. He turned his head and hurriedly asked,

"Opening the ten gates lets Death out, what does that mean?"

"It means, the authority of Death will awaken again! The last time this thing ran out was right before my eyes, right here in the Ideal State... never mind, you don't understand and don't know either, you weren't even born back then. You just need to know, many, many people will die because of this! Now is not like that time, there are no Demigods here. The remaining Mythic Species are either sleeping or fighting to the death above... Oh my, oh my, we are doomed, doomed."

Eimhart's single eye looked at the open door leaf above, then looked back at Jasmine sitting on the ground inside the palace, her entire body rendered scarlet. After a moment of hesitation, he made up his mind and said to Holland,

"No, it can't be like this, there is still a chance now. I must go up and find the chief culprit who opened the door leaf, then quickly close the door. Otherwise, once the Goddess of Death fully awakens, this place will be completely chaotic!"

"Wait, you?"

Holland raised his brow, looking at the square Eimhart before him about to fly up, and said so.

"Yes, precisely the great Sir Book Artifact me! What about it?"

"..."

Holland was silent for a moment. Subsequently, he also looked towards the sky, shook his head, and said,

"No, I'll go. It should be a bit more convenient for me than you."

"You go?"

Eimhart looked suspiciously at Holland before him. Honestly speaking, he didn't trust the other party very much, especially at this time.

Anyone could tell this guy was seeking death. Now that the authority of Death was fully awakening and about to explode, it was very likely his only chance. Him going at this critical moment carried quite a bit of throwing a meat bun at a dog meaning.

If he went like this, not only would the matter above not be mitigated slightly, Jasmine here would only have him to look after her. That would be troublesome, arguably unable to take care of both sides.

Facing Eimhart's hesitation, Holland hunched his back, pulled a cigarette from his pocket, and held it in his mouth. Subsequently, he said softly,

"I will close that door. As for here, Fisher trusts you the most. The Lord Priest of the Dragon Court is left to you."

"... Okay, but you must keep your word."

"Hmm."

Holland gave a helpless smile. Subsequently, he opened his hands, and countless flapping bird corpses shook out from his sleeves. Those birds quickly and tacitly bit onto the clothes on his body, lifting him from the ground and flying towards the direction of the wide-open Gate of Knowledge.

Below, Eimhart watched him go far away, clearly still unable to put his mind at ease. Only unfortunately, he was merely a book and couldn't accomplish anything major. He could only unwillingly fly back into Baimon's palace to look after Jasmine who was wrapped by the Base's power.

Inside the palace, Jasmine tightly shut her eyes, resisting with all her might against that ubiquitous chill. Time appeared viscous in such a difficult process, making Jasmine feel as if a day felt like a year.

It was also at this time, a murmur from an unknown source abruptly reached her ear. Was it a statement from the bottom of her heart? Or was it whispers from an unknown void?

Jasmine lowered her head. Her broad chest continuously heaved with her panting. Very quickly, a thin scarlet mist drifted out from her mouth,

"Outside... what's happening outside... Mr. Eimhart..."

"Uh, outside... well, nothing, you just focus on yourself, it's fine."

"Then where is Teacher Fisher? When... is he coming back?"

"Uh, this, he'll be back very soon."

"How fast is very soon."

"That, should..."

"A thousand years is not enough... five thousand years is not enough... could it be... ten thousand years..."

"Wha-what?"

"But... I'm about to not be able to hold on... I'm truly... going to become..."

"What, Jasmine... Jasmine, what are you talking about? Listen up, Fisher is right above! Calm down, you'll definitely be able to see him!!"

"... Really?"

"Really really, you make absolutely sure to calm down!"

But Jasmine already stopped replying to Eimhart. She merely lowered her head, immediately followed by abruptly saying a sentence Eimhart couldn't understand at all,

"どこ... どこにいるの先生..."

"What what what, Jasmine, what are you saying... You... don't talk nonsense, you're scaring me to death!"

Eimhart grew increasingly anxious, thinking Jasmine was so uncomfortable it became critical, hence becoming incoherent and talking nonsense. He became even more restless, uncontrollably flying back and forth inside the palace.

"Rumble!"

Along with Holland's ascension, that imminent explosive Death also became increasingly startling. Of course, this was perceptually. Because right now that authority hadn't completely broken free and the Goddess of Death hadn't fully awakened yet. So visually, apart from feeling the magma becoming more restless, nothing could be seen.

He very quickly stopped near the illusory door leaf wide open in mid-air. Standing on the protruding rock walls on both sides, he appraised that completely formless door leaf, pondering over how to close it.

Hesitating for a moment, he gently reached his hand into his pocket, pulling out a revolver. Subsequently, with a fierce leap, he entered the space blossoming in mid-air.

"Thump!"

But when he leaped into mid-air, a scepter fully wrapped in bandages abruptly reached out from within. The moment it reached out, that scepter violently burst open the bandages wrapping its body, expanding to form a fork-shaped tip that fiercely locked onto Holland's neck, restraining his body—about to enter the door leaf—in mid-air.

"Urg!"

Holland hurriedly reached out and pinched the handle of that scepter to prevent falling from mid-air. After all, he wasn't that group of Mythical Rank demons or Fisher, and didn't grow wings either. If he fell off, he would have to be slowly dragged up by those little birds again.

And the next moment, from that pitch-black door leaf, a hunched, bandage-covered human shape looking like a withered stick was revealed. He tightly gripped the scepter in his hand, saying in an extremely terrifying voice,

"Who is it... oh, another unlucky bastard... Look at you, simply exactly identical to me. Stripped of death, leaving only the complete emptiness from when death was stripped away... truly pitiful."

After seeing Holland's appearance clearly, Solomon froze slightly and was about to let him go. Then he violently pulled the scepter along with the Holland he controlled back, entering the gloomy space behind the door leaf.

"But it doesn't matter, you know, very soon, very soon liberation for you and me will arrive... Because... because that adult truly pointed out a clear path for us..."

Solomon tossed Holland crashing onto the ground in near delirium. He hurriedly turned to look beside him. Only then did he realize they were currently in a deep place wrapped by dense death aura. From beneath their feet, countless surging chaotic materials connected to the wide-open illusory door leaves in all directions, exactly ten in number.

And along with the opening of those ten doors, that Death originally hidden beneath the chaotic materials also began to grow restless, continuously seeping out a faint blue light from within the chaotic aura.

Immediately after, Holland heard one sound after another, just as if the heart of a certain existence was beating powerfully...

"Thump, thump... thump... thump..."

Yet there were more than one of such heartbeats. Very quickly, another heartbeat with an entirely different rhythm also rang out. Then the third, the fourth...

"Thump, thump... thump... thump..."

"Did you hear it, kid?" Solomon listened attentively, the fiendish grin on his face growing increasingly exaggerated. He turned back to look at Holland and asked, "Do you know what this sound is? Do you know the origin of these sounds?"

Holland froze slightly. That segment of memory once in the West Continent was also awakened bit by bit. He frowned. Lowering his head looking at the heartbeat sounds coming from beneath the chaotic materials, he murmured in disbelief,

"Unconscious God, God of Destiny, Ultimate of All Things... Heya?"

Yes, having once believed in the Death Cult, he was well aware of the legends of this deity.

Legend has it that this goddess has ten thousand hearts, each beating with a rhythm distinctly different from one another. These heartbeats are both the proof of Her existence and the death knell of mortality. And when the heartbeats on Her body converge into unison, She will manifest to bestow death upon all living creatures.

"Yes! Exactly! We are right now directly above the slumbering Heya, which is also the place where the Sea of Chaos sealed Her back then... Kid, just wait. In a little while, the God of Death will awaken, and then the missing parts on our bodies will be bestowed to us anew, allowing us to finally die."

Solomon looked at the Holland behind him with extreme excitement. Subsequently, he hurriedly walked in front of Holland, pressing his shoulders with both hands and continuing,

"I can feel it, you're in just as much pain as I am, right? Outsiders don't understand us, mistakenly thinking losing death means we gained eternal life. In reality, they have absolutely no idea what this signifies..."

"They don't know that our everything was frozen at the moment death was stripped away. Our hearts were also immovably frozen at that moment, unable to accommodate any new things anymore. Then we could only helplessly watch as those remaining things in our hearts perished one by one with time, ultimately leaving nothing..."

Solomon painfully covered his face. The pungent corpse stench emitted from the bandages intertwined on his body instantly brought Holland's memory back to the days of rolling in corpse piles.

He naturally understood what the feeling Solomon described meant.

Being stripped of death looked like a boon, but in reality, it was an uncompromised curse.

Just as Solomon said, their hearts were also immortalized at the moment they were stripped of death, yet they could never accept any changes again.

Every new person Holland met, every existence was no longer an "existence" in his eyes, but a dead object. He could no longer gain feelings from anyone or anything.

Just like an ordinary person going to Schwari and eating a new dessert, that should be a delightful delicacy. But to them, experiencing this brand-new taste was completely empty in taste, and same in their hearts.

Just like a decent gentleman going to Saint-Nazareth and befriending a beautiful lady, that should be an encounter worthy of savoring, an eruption of romance. But to them, such romance was like an already withered flower, and the lady supporting it was a piece of walking rotten meat.

Apart from the feelings they had already experienced and the subjects that made them generate feelings, all other opportunities capable of generating new feelings were stripped away along with their death, "halted" on the day they lost them.

But in this world, shockingly only the two of them were halted, without an ultimate end.

So, when Holland helplessly watched his childhood sweetheart whom he had feelings for being beaten to death by her husband, saw his hometown where he spent his childhood slaughtered and ultimately razed to the ground by cannons and soldiers, all his feelings had already died, no longer capable of generating any new vitality.

So, when Solomon's empire perished in internal strife, when his concubines, his children, and their bloodline were reduced to ashes and smoke in history, his entire heart had already been killed, leaving only this still-moving walking corpse.

Humans acting as ants always fantasize about "eternal and perpetual stasis", yet fail to realize that death is actually "motion that still has an end".

When people conceive abandoning their own motion to gain "eternal life", they simultaneously extravagantly hope that everything they obtain will perpetually grow without stopping alongside motion. Yet, this is always impossible for humans.

Therefore, solving this mismatch between motion and stasis is the true fallacy in this illusion named "eternal life", and also the genuine origin of the two immortals' desire for death at this moment.

"Just wait a little longer, kid. Wait a few more minutes, Goddess Heya will completely awaken, and then, we'll be able to get what we dream of obtaining..."

"..."

At this instant, Holland perhaps also fell into hesitation. Because right now, what Fisher had promised him—which was also his true purpose for coming here—was already placed before him. He only needed to stand in place and wait a few minutes to obtain it...

But the next second, he still sighed, spitting the cigarette in his mouth that had been smoked down to a mere nub to the side. He said to Solomon before him,

"When you died, cigarettes hadn't been invented yet, right, old ghost?"

"Wha..."

The next second, he violently raised the gun barrel and stuffed it into Solomon's mouth. Following an explosive bang, Solomon's head exploded in response, and he collapsed onto the ground.

But Holland didn't hesitate at all. He merely hurriedly turned back and ran before the door leaf he entered, wanting to close it.

"You mongrel!! Is there water in your brain? If you don't want to die don't drag me into it! Don't ruin my good deed!!"

This door leaf was ultimately illusory, and Holland didn't know how to close this thing either. Reaching out to grab it directly went through the door frame and entered the Dynasty. Meanwhile behind him, realizing his intention to close the gate, Solomon was thoroughly infuriated. While roaring furiously, he raised the scepter and charged fiercely, plunging it into the Death Minister's head, viciously pinning him on the chaotic materials.

"You motherf... you motherf..."

Holland just revived, only to be stabbed to death by Solomon again. Just revived, and stabbed to death again. Right as it was about to happen a third time, Holland gritted his teeth and fired a shot right at the boundary of his crotch.

"Ouch!! Fuck!!"

Solomon collapsed clutching his crotch, while Holland stood up and delivered a vicious finishing kick. The pain caused Solomon to aim his forehead straight at his scepter, waiting to restore to original after suicide.

While Holland seized all the time, figuring out how to close these doors while tangling with Solomon.

Lo and behold, he very quickly found a clue.

He discovered that above these illusory door leaves floated some kind of seals flickering with lights of various colors, looking exactly identical to those Demon God seals outside. He pondered for a moment, raised his gun, and shot.

"Crack!"

As one seal was hit and fell, that originally illusory door leaf also instantly solidified, beginning to close automatically without wind.

"Crack crack crack!"

"No!! What did you do?!"

Holland gave him no chance. Subsequently, he fired four shots in succession, consecutively hitting the remaining four seals, slamming shut half the door leaves all at once. Shaking his revolver's cylinder, right as he was about to reload bullets, the ghoul-like Solomon behind him roared and pounced towards him.

Holland instantly could not dodge in time. He was violently stabbed by a single fork and pinned onto the chaotic materials beneath his body. That fork perfectly hit his right chest. The torn muscle instantly made his right hand grasping the revolver loosen, causing the handgun to spin and slide out following inertia.

"Crack crack crack crack!"

As time slowly pushed forward, the chaotic materials beneath them also shattered open bit by bit. The heartbeat sounds around also grew increasingly fierce, as if something was about to burst out of the earth immediately.

"Alright! Since you refuse to die, then go look at Goddess Heya's true body for me! Let Her bestow a blessing upon you, making the undead curse on you last even longer, for generations upon generations, generations upon generations!"

Solomon didn't kill him to let him recover. Instead, he viciously pressed his head onto the chaotic materials below, forcing his eyes to stare dead straight at the gaps in the materials, making him directly face the light radiating from Heya's true body below.

Gazing upon a True God precisely carried what kind of consequences?

The previous Death Minister also asked that old-and-not-dying Fate Lord this exact question. Because she stopped him from observing the "Mother Goddess True Form" and "Scarlet God" in the Spirit World.

"At most isn't it just death? Am I still afraid of death?"

"No, directly looking at Them probably won't result in death. It's just that existences below Demigod looking directly at Deities will suffer a curse. The lower the rank, the more severe the curse, and vice versa."

"Curse? What kind of curse?"

"A curse making you feel life is worse than death, countless times more miserable than now."

"Then what if I close my eyes to observe?"

"Hehe, you can try and see if it works, stupid pig..."

The conversation with the Fate Lord instantly flooded his mind. At this moment, Holland, whose head was pinned by Solomon, faced the faint blue light coming from below head-on. Even if he wanted to close his eyes, he couldn't do it. Because the next moment, his soul, his entire consciousness was seemingly dragged down into the depths below, wanting to satisfy the most primal curiosity to scrutinize the true form of the unknown existence in that gloomy land.

At that moment, he seemed to have attended ten thousand funerals of strangers, either lying in the coffin letting people commemorate, or sitting below wiping tears in mourning of the departed's passing, or becoming the most absolute third party, collecting payment to officiate this ceremony...

Are these death?

No, they aren't. Then what is true death?

At this moment, Holland suddenly discovered that he couldn't seem to clearly remember the name and appearance of the childhood sweetheart he had loved for so many years. He also couldn't recall exactly why he left her to travel outside, forcing her to marry that husband who beat and scolded her...

What exactly did he... see?

Time paused at this second, but the next moment, the Death Completion Manual at his chest violently emitted an extremely impure light.

"Holland..."

"Laika..."

From that endless faint blue, a mild female with an average appearance and dark skin extended her face from the impure filth, blocking before that faint blue light, occupying his entire field of vision.

Only then did he suddenly remember: everyone in his hometown couldn't eat their fill. How could his cherished childhood sweetheart possibly be any beautiful person?

She should have a sallow face and thin body, her skin turning dark and posture twisted due to harsh natural environment and prolonged labor...

It wasn't that he wanted to leave; it was because her family truly couldn't open the pot (afford food). Thus her father sold her as a slave to wealthy people in the city, so their family could have rations to survive the winter...

So, that wealthy man had absolutely no intention of marrying her. He merely treated her as a toy, beating her to death amidst all kinds of insults.

At this moment, Holland's pupils violently contracted. That heart that had been halted for an unknown time due to being stripped of death finally produced a tiny flowing dawn at this moment. Even though it was just a little bit, it allowed Holland to react.

Exploiting the instant that "Laika" blocked Heya's true appearance, he gritted his teeth and thrust his body backward fiercely. Letting the giant fork formed by the scepter tear his body, he violently flipped and controlled Solomon. Subsequently, amidst Solomon's unbelievable gaze, Holland repaid a tooth for a tooth, viciously pinning his head dead straight onto the collapsing chaotic materials, making him directly face the Heya below.

But he didn't possess the Death Completion Manual like Holland. At the instant of looking below, Solomon, as if seeing an unbelievable substance, began trembling uncontrollably all over like a sieve. Following closely, his originally hunched figure began to undergo uncontrolled mutation. Even from the bandages tightly wrapping his body, faint blue feathers exuding a pungent, intense foul odor grew out...

"Holy shit!"

But Holland paid him absolutely no mind. With a single roll, he pulled the fork out from his body, trembling as he picked up the revolver beside him and arduously reloaded.

"Ahhhhhhh!!"

Behind him, Solomon's wails grew increasingly shrill, even starting to shift towards the sound of a certain unknown bird. Holland finished reloading, aiming at his own head and firing a shot first.

After death, he convulsively shot up, carrying a restored-to-original peak state, and raised the revolver in his hand again aiming at the Demon God seals above the door leaves.

"Bang bang bang bang bang!!"

Five consecutive shots. Entering the instant the cylinder emptied, all the doors began to turn into physical forms and slowly closed shut.

Holland panted for a moment, looking at those closing door leaves. Assessing the collapse speed of the chaotic materials underneath his body, it should be able to maintain Heya from escaping before they closed.

And he himself

The door leaf before him closed bit by bit. He didn't have the slightest intention of walking out. But the next second, Solomon violently reached out his giant hand and grabbed him, throwing him out of this about-to-close door leaf.

The dense death aura inside the door was about to turn into a prison, yet Holland was thrown out at the very last moment the door leaf closed.

He hurriedly turned back in mid-air, only to see Solomon's countless pairs of eyes all looking at him simultaneously. The struggling humanity swayed within, yet was swallowed by the curse at the last moment the door leaf closed, transforming into a monster neither human nor ghost. This also made Holland completely not understand the meaning of his final action.

"Aw aw!"

Solomon's roar was blocked by the door leaf, while Holland had already descended blankly from high altitude. From that last door leaf, he had returned to the high altitude of a certain region in the Demon Dynasty.

The Dynasty was still shaking violently. His head was still a completely empty blank slate, completely clear about nothing, only sensing he was rapidly falling.

"Thump, thump... thump..."

Beside his ear, that heartbeat sound conveying like an auditory hallucination continued again. He thought it was the heartbeat of the God of Death Heya, but then felt this heartbeat sound was singular and fragile, unlike the palpitation-inducing heartbeat sound of Lord God...

Consequently the next moment, only then did he reach his hand to cover his chest, feeling a vibration with the exact same rhythm as the sound he heard.

So, this was his own heartbeat.

He blinked. The next instant, his entire person sank straight into the churning magma below, swallowed in the blink of an eye, disappearing within it.

"Plop..."

Hmm...

Perhaps after doing so, it would be able to answer Fisher's query of "what would happen if Holland fell into the magma" back when he entered the Gate of Knowledge, right?

"Oh my, I can't be bothered ignoring this defeated opponent! Something seems to have happened over at the Dynasty, I must go back and check!"

At this moment, in the middle of the ocean at the southernmost edge of the Southern Continent, a cluster of islands formed by countless precipitous tall mountains rising in the ocean. The six-armed Eliog finally discovered the sky-piercing flame and the stirring aura of death over there. While worrying about Fisher and the situation over there, she fiercely leaped from her spot into the clouds, rushing towards that direction.

While the lofty and steep peaks of this place...

Hmm, didn't exist an hour ago either. It was just an outcome of these two eighteenth-tier Mythical Species fighting with full force just now, battling until the topography under the sea surface was altered. Even more so because Eliog lifted several dozens of mountains from the Southern Branch Mountain Range and smashed them over, directly smashing an island here, so it appeared so abrupt and riddled with wounds.

"Splash, splash... splash..."

At this moment, the inequalities and vulnerabilities between those high mountains were continuously seeping seawater inwards, forming dozens of "waterfalls" in the ocean nearby, flowing towards a giant pit hundreds of meters deep at the center of this island.

Inside the giant pit, scattered feathers, bow arrows deeply embedded into the ground, and bloodstains all over the ground were everywhere. None did not loudly declare the intensity of the battle condition over this very recent period of time.

And at the center of the giant pit, a crippled human figure lay at the center of the cracked ground. Even one arm was broken, and his two feet were snapped and embedded into the ground, unable to get up for a long time.

His face was occupied by blood. One eye that could barely open looked listlessly at the sky. At this moment, it was early afternoon, when the sun was brightest and hottest.

Beside him, the seawater warmed by the sun's scorching finally reached his side after dropping from the closest waterfall to him, yet it was only two or three centimeters thick, merely waking his turbid consciousness slightly.

"Lost..."

It was precisely Barbatos who battled Demon God Eliog to the last moment.

"Tap tap..."

At this moment, the sound of feet stepping on the water surface drifted nearby. Because his entire body was embedded into the ground by a massive impact, Barbatos couldn't even turn his head. He could only blankly slant his eyes, seeing a pained gaze cast from the shadow formed by the morning sun.

Barbatos's lips trembled for a moment, yet he couldn't speak out anything. Only after the figure beside him slowly squatted down, and then knelt by his side, gently reaching out, lifting him carefully from the ground indentation, and cradling him in her arms.

"No need to mind, honey. She is only one step away from the nineteenth tier, lacking only a comprehensive war. It's just that for a long time she refused conflict and didn't act. Her fighting with you today truly shocked me."

Within the dense pink pupils was Barbatos's most familiar beloved's figure. At this moment, standing aside not mixing in the fight between the two factions, Cidi finally waited until the endgame, meeting with his lover Barbatos.

While Barbatos opened his mouth, not replying to Cidi's words, merely asking,

"Then over on Agreas' side..."

"Also failed I guess. Seems something big happened over there, practically burning up the Crevice, even the authority of Death is restless. It's very troublesome ah..."

"Is... that so..."

But the conversation ended here. Neither Cidi nor Barbatos made any more movements. Barbatos merely extended a hand and grabbed Cidi's fingers stroking the wounds on his body.

Barbatos seemingly wanted to say something, like wanting to explain why he left the Dynasty and listened to Baimon's scheme along with Agreas; also wanting to say something, since Agreas also failed now, then Baimon's scheme was probably just deceiving them after all...

However, at this moment, following the gentle outer sea breeze, Barbatos remarkably didn't say a word. He merely felt his lover's gentle caress, felt his fingertips brushing the dried bloodstains all over his forehead, brushing the uneven blade wounds, until it made his half-squinted eyes also gently close, feeling everything around him.

Perhaps until this moment, they had never truly obtained freedom, being sealed inside that Dynasty by the Mother Goddess due to the implication of their race.

But at least at this moment, Barbatos's soul was free, just like that ubiquitous gentle breeze...

Who could have thought?

The ending of Barbatos—whose nature loved fame and attention so much—surpisingly only had a single audience right now; Cidi—whose nature so greatly adored carnal desires and ultimate bliss—also had absolutely no demands at this moment, even lacking excessive contact...

Only after a long while did Barbatos's explanation for everything arrive late,

"That false god didn't understand Demons, and didn't understand us either. Even if sealing us, She insisted on separating us in different regions... I... only wanted your original body to return to my side again..."

Cidi closed his eyes, only smiling and saying,

"Ah... I know everything, honey."

"..."

Besides this, the two Demon Gods had no other conversation anymore.

At this moment, only the gentle breeze and babbling seawater quietly brought the battlefield here to a full stop.

"What exactly is going on?!"

When Eliog defeated Barbatos head-on and returned from afar, the first thing she saw was the Soul Flame burning fiercely in the sky above. As if trying to burn through a portion of the sky, very quickly, where it spread past, the vast universe close at hand was revealed, along with the surging, turbulent Scarlet Mist twinkling with starlight within it.

Through the already precarious Crevice, the terrifying power of that Scarlet Mist made Eliog unable to help but feel an extremely severe sense of oppression. But precisely because the Crevice hadn't been completely burned through yet, there was still a barrier separating that Scarlet Mist and reality, rendering it unable to thoroughly erode this patch of heaven and earth.

Then, what exactly was the situation inside the Dynasty?

Eliog had no mood to care about the weak living creatures in all directions that had already been intimidated beyond measure by this Mythical scenery. Right now, they were either going crazy or hiding, which frankly saved Eliog trouble. On the surface, Barbatos's Portal had already been destroyed. Eliog could only scratch her head, raised the weapon in her hand to use her own Portal, preparing to return to her castle located at the Gate of Victory.

"Buzz buzz buzz!"

As scorching flames completely wrapped her figure, the scene before her eyes also changed instantly, returning to the Demon Dynasty brimming with scorching aura.

She gritted her teeth feeling the death aura permeating all around, very quickly realizing which thousand-cuts-deserving bastard opened the ten gates serving as seals in the Dynasty. She turned to look beside her bed, and sure enough, she discovered the pillow she used to store the Gate of Victory's seal mark had been torn to shreds, with premium velvet scattered all over the ground.

Her castle had restrictions set up. Because she gave the Favored One's mark to Fisher—even though the original mark had already been overwritten by Baimon's, Eliog's aura still remained—he was able to enter. But she hadn't expected someone to seize the opportunity of him entering to sneak in and steal the mark away.

All these years, the other Demon Gods were all slumbering, and moreover didn't even have restrictions forbidding entry set up like her. Presumably, their marks had probably all been stolen as well...

She grew increasingly displeased. She just wanted to get up and head towards the ten open gates, wanting to try to close the ten gates at the final moment before Death completely awakened. But right at this moment, the illusory door leaves in the sky suddenly closed in response. It was unclear who did it, but it indeed produced an effect, curbing the continued deterioration of the situation.

At the very least, Goddess of Death Heya wouldn't fully awaken.

But the aura of death had already spewed out, Her authority remained restless, the breaking of the seals was still devastating to the Dynasty.

Right now, the Demon Dynasty was still trembling unstoppably, the power of the Death authority was still corroding and spreading upwards. As the First Pillar, Eliog naturally knew the severity of the matter, but still couldn't help wanting to confirm Fisher's current condition and what exactly just happened here.

She didn't hesitate anymore, very quickly urging all her power to head towards the recent incident location, the Gate of Expression region. But before arriving at the Gate of Expression's location, she abruptly felt a familiar aura on the pink wilderness of the Gate of Carnal Desire.

"Baimon?!"

Eliog's toes fiercely stalled, descending from mid-air. The crimson-flame-like red long hair on her head trembled in the wind, looking at that Baimon who was currently using power to contend against the authority of Death.

Beside her, Raphaela's body was currently undergoing a metamorphosis into the Mythical Rank, while Fisher collapsed unconscious in her embrace.

Baimon had her eyes closed, surrounded by illusory morning light. That power was spreading deep into the Dynasty, guiding the already out-of-control authority of Death, but to no avail regardless of what was done.

Eliog grew angry from within. Raising the weapon in her hand, she was about to step forward. But at this moment, Baimon abruptly opened her somewhat exhausted eyes, looking at the Eliog before her with a complex expression.

"Let go of him aww!!"

Eliog had never seen such exhaustion appear in Baimon's eyes before. This made her forward-charging blade motion slightly pause, yet still fiercely smashed onto her body-protecting morning light in one go. The huge force made Baimon's face turn pale, golden blood seeping from the corners of her mouth. She still wanted to hold the Fisher in her arms, but couldn't help but loosen her fingers, letting him fall to the ground.

"Cough, cough..."

"You bastard, being free outside for so many years isn't enough, you still have to use Barbatos and Agreas to work their lives away for you. Now look, how did those ten gates open? What is the matter with the Crevice in the sky above?! Is this also a part of your plan, Baimon, what exactly do you want to do?"

Baimon reached out again wanting to pull the Fisher lying on the ground, but Eliog had already raised her blade, chopping right at her wrist with one strike. Amidst splattering golden blood, Baimon gained another wound, simultaneously retracting her hand in pain.

Yet she still curled up the corners of her mouth, albeit this smile being slightly heavy. She said,

"Are you going to continue fighting, or lend a hand to seal the authority of Death back in?"

"I'll seal your head aww!"

Eliog forcefully yanked Baimon's white robe, lifting her up. The giant hammer raised above her head swung menacingly. And the fury in Eliog's eyes was also increasingly difficult to suppress. She said through gnashed teeth,

"Explain clearly to me, what exactly is going on? Otherwise, I'll smash your head to a pulp right now. Besides, you aren't a Demon anyway, even if you die it has no bearing on sealing the authority of Death. It'll also spare you going outside randomly causing harm to others!"

Baimon just looked at the Eliog before her with a beaming smile like this, but remaining silent from beginning to end. This made Eliog become increasingly furious, wishing she could smash this guy's head to a pulp immediately.

If it wasn't for Fisher having already returned to normal from that previous terrifying state, Eliog probably really wouldn't have been able to hold back.

But the aura of the authority of Death around them grew increasingly dense. Even though closing the ten gates didn't diminish it in the slightest. Seeing the Dynasty's shaking becoming increasingly violent under such influence, Eliog also had no choice but to put her down, angrily saying,

"Then what are you planning to do now? The authority of Death was originally unstable. Now that it is released, even our power won't be enough to fully seal it back up. Could it be we helplessly watch it explode outward?"

"It was that guy Solomon... I was always focused on my plan, yet ignored what that human who always wanted to die had been doing inside the Dynasty over these several thousands of years. He sneaked into the palaces of the First Pillars behind each gate and stole the marks they watched over, just to awaken the authority of Death and then die... Of course, to a death-seeker like him, whether others died or not had absolutely no relation to him anymore..."

"... As a Mythic Species acting freely outside, you'd watch him steal your mark aww?"

Facing Eliog's suspicion, Baimon merely shrugged her shoulders and said,

"That Base, even when sealed its influence on me is very great. Have you forgotten how my Angel compatriots were exterminated completely by It in the Spirit World... Therefore, in order for the plan to go smoothly, I no longer went back after storing it inside my palace, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to succeed."

"..."

This explanation was indeed reasonable. The power of that Spirit World Contamination had exceptional lethality towards Angels. Although she didn't know the reason, Eliog knew this point from very early on. And Baimon glanced at the trembling Dynasty around them, continuing,

"... Moreover, right now, even if the power of the authority of Death has already been strengthened again, it's not entirely without solutions... For example, me transforming into the Dynasty's true seventy-second pillar, letting my power thoroughly become a part of the Dynasty. This way might perhaps be able to seal it back up again..."

Eliog froze slightly, frowning, and sneered saying,

"Didn't see it, you actually have such resolve? Actually willing to thoroughly sacrifice your freedom?"

Baimon looked at Fisher lying on the ground, smiling radiantly as she said,

"My plan failed."

"What, Agreas discovered your flaws?"

Baimon shook her head, saying with pity,

"It's impossible for them, and even more impossible for you. From several thousands of years ago, I began waiting and scheming. If I let you guys stop it easily, then I wouldn't have made so many of you hate me so much."

"Hehe."

Regarding Baimon sarcastically implying she had no brains, veins bulged on Eliog's forehead, while her smile also grew increasingly stiff.

"Only unfortunately, I calculated everything, except for failing to expect the person I waited so long for would refuse to leave with me..."

"Oh? Is that so aww..."

Hearing this, Eliog's darkened face couldn't help but brighten up. She swayed the long tail behind her, and even the crimson "cat ears" on her head trembled rapidly, entirely appearing to be taking pleasure in someone else's misfortune and secretly rejoicing.

While Baimon looked condescendingly at Raphaela who was currently advancing in the near distance, adding one last sentence,

"... Also for a Dragon-kin who bestowed suffering upon his body."

"..."

Eliog's tail and ears both stopped swaying. Subsequently, she softly clicked her tongue, and looking at the rising magma all around, she looked at Baimon and said,

"Start quickly, what exactly needs to be done?"

"First of all, I need all of you to return to the Dynasty. Agreas has already taken her place, you are also here, and Barbatos and Cidi those two..."

"We are here ah!"

Right after Baimon finished speaking, after a soft breeze swept past, Cidi supporting the heavily-injured Barbatos appeared before his palace at the Gate of Carnal Desire, greeting them from afar.

Barbatos cast a cold glance at Baimon, while Eliog also breathed a sigh of relief. Right as she wanted to explain the current situation to the two of them, Cidi stroked his chin and said,

"What exactly is the situation with the Crevice above I'm unclear about, but the aura of the authority of Death here is so dense, let me guess, you need us to return to our places to control the authority?"

"That's right, from now on, I will also become a part of the Dynasty."

Cidi nodded, subsequently smiling and saying,

"Sure, no problem, but with one condition: from now on, my main body and Barbatos's main body must be together. Might as well take advantage of this time to move our main bodies a bit. With your current power you should be able to do it right?"

Baimon nodded, subsequently looking towards the silent Barbatos beside him, and said with a beaming smile,

"It's a deal."

"Hehe, Baimon's 'it's a deal' is even more unreliable than a human's promise..."

Eliog sneered coldly, but still threw the weapon in her hand onto the ground. Subsequently, she took a deep breath, and the flames all over her body flared up increasingly higher. While the pink brilliance and verdant breeze on Cidi and Barbatos also spewed out simultaneously, spreading down along the ground, heading straight for the authority of Death.

Hearing this, Baimon was neither agreeable nor disagreeable. She merely cast a deeply meaningful glance at Fisher on the ground. Subsequently, her entire body was wrapped in the purest morning light. Her figure grew increasingly bright, much like the morning sun at eight or nine o'clock. Its radiance very quickly covered the land of the Gate of Carnal Desire, wrapping the remaining Demon Gods within.

Barbatos's figure disappeared from the spot bit by bit, transforming into a sky-piercing pillar of fire that reappeared within Cidi's palace, gently intertwining with Cidi's main body—the pillar of fire separated from the soul.

And Eliog's main body also instantly disappeared, returning to that lazy appearance anew. The ferocious six arms also reverted to two arms, making her somewhat unaccustomedly twist her own shoulders.

Meanwhile, inside Baimon's palace, Jasmine who had been bitterly supporting the Base also instantly rolled her eyes back and went soft, collapsing onto the ground.

The Base in her hand dissipated bit by bit, yet after Jasmine broke connection with it, it bizarrely extended a bit of Scarlet Mist wanting to draw near her...

"Oh my, you thousand-cuts deserving thing!! The great Sir Book Artifact is here!!"

Fortunately, Eimhart beside her had quick eyes and—uh, quick book—violently flying over, wrapped in golden light, to push that Base away for quite a long distance. Only then did that red mist distance from Jasmine, slowly dissipating in mid-air.

And lastly, that morning-light-wrapped Baimon also violently bloomed a massive radiance. Only she didn't transform into a pillar of fire, but exposed her true Angel form. Compared to ten thousand years ago, it was merely the wings behind her being dyed with a bit of chaotic and impure colors.

"Buzz buzz buzz!"

At this moment, Demon God Baimon, who had always remained detached outside the Dynasty, finally thoroughly took her place, opting for self-sacrifice to become a part that suppressed the authority of Death.

The boiling magma around gradually quieted down under the wrapping of the morning light. All that dense death aura was swept away by that morning light, completely entering Baimon's body, fully sealing the power accumulated over ten thousand years since the authority of Death was sealed and suppressed.

And the Dynasty also quieted down once again, the dust finally settling.

Fisher had a dream, a dream of a scene he had seen before.

In the dream, he turned back into an infant anew, lying helplessly in swaddling clothes inside a wooden basket, swaying along with the swaying arm of the figure beside him holding the cradle.

He suddenly felt somewhat dizzy, because an infant's body was truly too fragile.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Not far away, the sound of the small bronze bell from the church school—which ran through his entire childhood—abruptly chimed from the lighthouse not far away. It was clearly an inferior bronze bell so its sound was always muffled and small, but at this moment in his ears, that sound was like a tsunami, seeming to pierce his eardrums, and also making him increasingly awake.

He opened his mouth and opened his eyes, trying with all his might to see the true face of this figure beside him clearly. But apart from her slender fingers extending to grip the wooden basket, he couldn't see anything at all...

Who exactly are you?

Why don't I have a past life, why did you place me here?

Various doubts echoed uneasily in Fisher's heart, yet he was also getting closer and closer to that wall. That woman's footsteps finally slowed down a bit, and also took advantage of the momentum to switch hands holding him.

"Who exactly are you?"

The curiosity in Fisher's heart drove him, making him unable to wait to know this answer. He opened his mouth "waa waa aah aah", perhaps wanting to ask her this way, but could only do as all infants could, crying continuously...

But differing from the scenes he saw in the Soul Completion Handbook, at this moment, hearing Fisher's babbling, that woman carrying him actually made a movement.

So, she took advantage of the momentum and lowered her head to look towards Fisher, and Fisher also hurriedly looked at her.

But the next moment, what appeared before his eyes wasn't a person, but countless golden tentacles entrenched together, twisting and spinning. It was like a maelstrom floating in the gloomy deep space, just lawlessly fusing with everything, and just spinning drawing near him like this.

"&*()%&..."

Those tentacles surged continuously, seemingly wanting to say something to Fisher. Yet Fisher was already shivering down his spine, violently jolting awake from the dream and sitting up.

He panted several breaths. Amidst the surging memories in his brain, he then mumbled anxiously and in panic,

"Raphaela?"

"..."

He sat on a soft bed. No one around responded to him. Only beside his bed, a beauty with golden curly hair who was currently reading a certain book silently lowered the book a bit...

From behind it, a pair of blue-gold loose pupils were revealed.

"... Helaire?"

Fisher covered his chest, seemingly feeling a bit of coolness from a gentle breeze brushing against his muscles. Thus he looked down, only then discovering the clothes on his body had already been completely stripped away. On his chest revealing sturdy muscles, an approximately palm-sized spiral scar had abruptly appeared at some unknown point in time.

And at this moment, the Completion Manuals that had always been inseparable from him bizarrely only had two books left, namely the Demi-Human Completion Handbook and the Life Completion Manual...

Caleb Uz's Soul Completion Handbook had completely disappeared, its whereabouts unknown.

Thinking of this, Fisher wanted to reach out and touch that scar, but before getting close, he felt a piercing pain originating from his soul. Simultaneously, the sound of splashing waves faintly transmitted beside his ear. His palm was also caught mid-air by a set of fair, soft fingers, pausing midway.

That precisely was the place where he swallowed those chaotic materials shaped like Black Mud. They didn't disappear, but seemed to have completely assimilated into his body...

"It's me, honey. That place is still unstable, don't touch it."

Fisher's eyes raised, seeing the Angel before his eyes had already sat at the edge of the bed facing him sideways.

Her raised right hand grabbed Fisher, while her other hand placed the book she was previously reading face down on the bed surface, revealing the text of Saint-Nazareth on the book cover.

That seemed to be a fantasy travelogue from Saint-Nazareth's past pioneering era. It was just that Fisher had never read it before and didn't know the specific content inside.

In this sideways sitting posture, she crossed her legs that were slightly concealed by the white robe, thus revealing more of the skin previously hidden under the white robe.

She sized up the Fisher before her, watching him sizing up his surroundings after calling her, and also watching him slowly quiet down after recognizing this was her palace.

Fisher, who had just woken up, perhaps still had a somewhat groggy brain, or perhaps still didn't dare confirm what exactly the current situation was. But Helaire could tell that there were some questions in his heart urgently waiting to be understood and asked clearly from her.

Seeing his lips quiver slightly, right before he wanted to ask something, Helaire's slender golden eyelashes drooped slightly, stating the current situation,

"Stop looking, Raphaela was sent back to the surface by me. After the contaminated Blessing on her body burned out, the Fafnir bloodline within her completely awakened, beginning the process of entering the Mythical Rank. But the aura of the authority of Death inside the Dynasty was too dense; this was a hindrance to her, causing the progression of her advancement to stagnate, to the point she hadn't woken up until just now. Therefore Eliog had no choice but to send her up to the surface. She just left and hasn't returned yet..."

Without looking at Fisher, Helaire lowered her head, smiling and saying somewhat carelessly,

"As for the others... going up together was also that Whale-person who is the God of Destruction's daughter, she was responsible for watching over and taking care of Raphaela. And that friend of yours with a Completion Manual crawled out of the magma, and is currently waiting for you outside my palace with that little thing Eimhart. You know, that little thing is very afraid of me."

Upon hearing that Raphaela was safe and sound, a huge boulder in Fisher's heart finally fell heavily. He breathed a sigh of relief, broadly having a bit of judgment regarding the current situation in his heart.

Since Helaire said it was Eliog who sent the two of them up, then it also meant Barbatos's side was also defeated by Eliog. The upright Agreas couldn't rival the Chaos sealed within his body, and at the final moment, he himself rescued Raphaela from within the Black Mud. Before his consciousness grew muddy, he didn't quite remember how Helaire helped Raphaela, nor what the final outcome was...

However, at least as it currently appeared, this whole huge mess of things that had continuously emerged since his return finally came to an end and ceased.

And the initiator of this series of events after his return was currently sitting before him at this moment, just a short distance away.

Fisher couldn't help but glance at Helaire who was quietly gazing at him before his eyes, but perfectly caught her stunningly beautiful side profile and the ear revealed from amidst her clustered golden curls.

It seemed Fisher didn't confirm she truly existed until this moment. He also simultaneously felt that this seemed to be the first time he met her since returning to the present from ten thousand years ago, even though she had previously conversed with him through those two Familiars at the Red Dragon Court shipyard...

He merely felt that everything previously was unreal.

"..."

Fisher's inner complexity couldn't be described with words, so he could only use silence as a substitute, carefully gazing at the time she had experienced that was separated by ten thousand years to her.

The time of ten thousand years hadn't left any traces on her body. She was beautiful just as before, only her body had gained some dense aura of the authority of Death.

And besides beauty, to Fisher, her image was entirely hidden in a mysterious fog, making him unable to see clearly or fathom fully.

What even he hadn't expected was that the continuous questioning and complaining confrontation he originally thought of in his heart didn't come out of his mouth at this moment, but only an indescribable gazing remained.

She generously let Fisher use his gaze to appreciate her beauty just as before. Yet Fisher at this moment wasn't reading her beauty, but more resembling scrutinizing her soul.

After a long while, Fisher still couldn't help but speak, and the content of his words was concern he hadn't even thought of himself,

"Your body... how could it have the aura of the authority of Death, and so dense at that?"

Helaire raised her eyebrows, appearing somewhat surprised. Subsequently she replied,

"I thought you would continue asking matters regarding Raphaela, but since you asked me... I was too focused on this plan of yours after your return, so I didn't expect that Solomon secretly collected the marks of the First Pillars behind the ten gates over these several thousands of years behind my back when I wasn't around..."

Helaire roughly told Fisher of Solomon's deeds and the subsequent handling methods. But Fisher hadn't shown any reaction for a long time after hearing it, merely looking at the Helaire before him, just looking at the other party like this.

"... Helaire, are you telling the truth?"

Fisher lowered his gaze slightly, not looking straight into her bright blue-gold eyes, but abruptly asking such a question. While Helaire tilted her head, continuing to say,

"Why ask this?"

"Just a feeling. It made me somewhat angry previously, yet changed into hesitation until now. Because of my feelings for you, because of my greed and the debt incurred by making you wait, these all make me always believe the words you say. But I increasingly cannot understand what exactly your goal is, what you want to do... I already cannot distinguish whether the words you're saying to me at this moment are sincere, or just to pave the way for your next unknown plan..."

Fisher raised his eyes bit by bit, locking onto Helaire's appearance that was no different from his memory,

"Sometimes it really makes me hard to distinguish whether you're exactly the Demon God Baimon in others' mouths, or that Angel Helaire in my eyes. It's as if during the ten thousand years of our separation, you were always that Demon God I don't understand, and only the period we spent together was Helaire. Or rather, you had long become that terrifying Demon God, and only me, this guy who returned from ten thousand years ago, still foolishly thought you were the same as before?

"Can you tell me, right now before me, is it exactly Baimon, or Helaire?"

Helaire's eyes blinked. Subsequently, only then did she lower her head to look at the half-read book in her hand.

She didn't read the content within, merely slowly closing that face-down book, softly saying,

"I've always been your Helaire..."

"Thump!"

Fisher frowned, drawing closer to the Helaire before him bit by bit. He restrained his actions with all his might, yet it remained difficult to conceal a bit of excitement. Until the next moment, he finally couldn't endure anymore, reaching out his hand to grab her shoulders, fiercely pulling her back.

She didn't resist, merely those slightly widened, jewel-like blue-gold eyes reflecting Fisher's visage. The next second, that reflection fiercely drew near her, viciously pinning her onto the bed. The golden curls on her forehead also scattered beneath her along with the force of her falling, like a shattered rose.

Fisher lowered his gaze. The questioning in his eyes was like a wild beast, even the veins on his forehead bulging bit by bit. Yet he still tried his best to make his tone calm. As for how calm it actually was, that would require a third party to evaluate. He merely asked unwillingly,

"Then why did you design such a scheme? Why did you plots to harm others like this? Don't you know doing this will kill many people? This time's Dragon Court plan was like this. Then before this, before I returned to the past, before I even knew you, were you already by my side? Taking advantage of my ignorance to do who knows how many irretrievable things?! And you kept your mouth shut about this, treating me as if I knew nothing?!

"I know you are a Mythical Species, a living creature much, much older and higher in rank than me. So in power you're much stronger than me, and in experience much more knowledgeable than me. but is this the reason you treat me as an ignorant child? You just treat me as a spineless infant, and you are my guardian who has to make all decisions for me and arrange everything for me? Why are you unwilling to tell me anything, what exactly are you doing all this for?"

These doubts, these questions Fisher wanted to confirm the answers to, were all poured out by him at this moment. But these questions perhaps weren't merely questions, but Fisher's fluctuating emotions at this moment.

His fingers tightly gripped Helaire's shoulders, as if wanting to embed them into her body, hoping she could give him an answer.

"I did it to save you. Raphaela is the key to initiating the destruction. As early as five years ago, she should have died in Pherone City. Even if you saved her, even without me, the Blessing in her body would sooner or later burn, thereby initiating the destruction. Only with her death can you extricate yourself from this maelstrom, and the horn of destruction would also be postponed because of this..."

"Are you making excuses? Using possibilities that haven't occurred as the basis for your actions? If it wasn't for you causing trouble in the middle, if you hadn't released the Demons to threaten her and her Dragon Court, how could the Dragon God's Blessing within her body have burned?!"

"Are you sure, honey?"

Helaire merely smiled looking at the Fisher before her, or rather, his chest.

Fisher looked down in disbelief towards the spiral scar on his chest. Through his own flesh and blood, he saw the Chaos within it and, naturally, also figured out some key points.

Fafnir being bestowed a Blessing by Dagon was obviously to abide by his duty of guarding the Crevice. It was unimaginable that such a Blessing could possess destructiveness. Yet now it had genuinely transformed into the horn initiating destruction, because during the Mythical War it was contaminated by the Soul Disaster formed by Caleb Uz, ultimately becoming a weapon attacking the Crevice...

Which meant, as long as the Soul Completion Handbook existed, as long as the Chaos within it existed, the detonation of Raphaela's Blessing was an inevitable outcome.

"I've already said, as early as five years ago, the Blessing in her body had already reached the verge of burning, and should have erupted back in Pherone City. But at that time you saved her... yes, you indeed saved her, prolonging her life, but that contaminated Blessing still hadn't mitigating in the slightest. It was only because four and a half years ago you were forced to bring the Completion Handbooks back to the past and got expelled. Your departure caused the Soul Completion Handbook to disappear in this timeline, so she also lived safe and sound like this for four and a half years...

"Yes, I prepared everything during these four and a half years, but do you really think it was me who caused the Blessing in her body to burn? Even if I did nothing, within the few months you spent with her after your return, the Blessing in her body would suddenly erupt and initiate the World-Ending Prophecy due to being influenced by the Soul Completion Handbook again, and she would also lose her life in her sleep..."

The force of Fisher pinching Helaire's shoulders weakened bit by bit. The muscles on his face trembled slightly, closely followed by him saying,

"Raphaela... is just the manifestation of the destruction. The essence of the destruction are those Completion Manuals, and the Chaos hidden within them..."

"Yes, honey, you're always able to discover the essence of the problem without being constrained by superficial appearances... But, then what?"

Helaire motionlessly lowered her hands, just letting him control her like this. Her smiling expression also slowly faded bit by bit, yet didn't completely disappear, only casting shadows over that smile,

"Oh, then, you of course will seek out and read all the Completion Manuals, because you've already discovered your uniqueness. Those Completion Manuals that mean destruction and poison to others, you can read more than one, and can even control the Chaos they form, just like what you're doing right now? You think choosing this path will effortlessly succeed? Anyway, as long as those women who have a close relationship with you are fine, whatever happens is good, right?

"You fundamentally don't know what doing so implies, nor do you know what you'll lose, what kind of pain you'll face... You think you can be so special that you just need to appear to make the Chaos behind those Completion Manuals bow in submission to you? No, you will only die in the most miserable and painful way, and then lose everything... This time, only Raphaela's death is needed to completely eliminate the Blessing initiating destruction within her body, and you can also thoroughly extricate yourself from the sea of suffering..."

Fisher frowned, retorting,

"Extricate? Could doing this lead to extrication, could doing this eliminate the World-Ending Prophecy? Just depending on sacrificing Raphaela? The other Completion Manuals still exist. If the fundamental issue isn't resolved, you, me, and all living beings in this world will ultimately meet destruction!"

"The significance of the World-Ending Prophecy's existence is exactly to prove the process of destruction will be a chain reaction, everything in it is interconnected, and Raphaela is the prerequisite for all this. At the moment the Blessing within her body burns the Crevice out completely, the barrier between reality and the Spirit World will be broken. When the time comes, the iron rule of 'Deities cannot intervene in reality' is going to be broken. This iron rule isn't just a rule limiting the Gods from taking action; it's the most solid protection for this world. Yet all this is about to change because of the Crevice being burned to ashes...

"As long as the World-Ending Prophecy isn't initiated, the power of Chaos cannot enter the foundation of this world. Even with those Completion Manuals, it will ultimately not cause fatal destruction. Moreover, there are still the Gods. If after the World-Ending Prophecy fails to initiate, They as True Gods remain powerless towards this, can it be done relying on you?"

Fisher froze slightly, because at this very moment, he suddenly remembered the words Renee said when he met her previously.

She said: "We already have a method to resolve the World-Ending Prophecy".

If he chose to believe this group of Deities who created the world, perhaps Helaire killing Raphaela to slow the process of destruction was indeed worth consideration. At least it seemed now, the Crevice starting to burn was definitely disadvantageous to Them.

"... But, this time I succeeded. I successfully sealed the Soul Chaos into my body, the Soul Completion Handbook has already disappeared."

"Yes, but perhaps it's just your good luck. The source of the Soul Chaos doesn't plan to make things difficult for you? Next time maybe there won't be such luck..."

"You mean... but why wouldn't He make things difficult for me?"

Helaire merely smiled looking at Fisher, those loose blue-gold pupils motionless. Seemingly having heard Fisher not believing the source of Chaos let him off, her smile even contained a bit of speechlessness and illegible doting,

"Who knows. I just think so, you lucky fool."

The annoying Angel before his eyes was obviously teasing him. Fisher gritted his teeth, right as he wanted to refute her, she had already shaken her head saying,

"However, there's no need for you to debate with me on what to do anymore. My plan has already failed. Now the Blessing in Raphaela's body has already started burning the Crevice. Even if I persuade you further, it's impossible... Or rather, I never thought of persuading you to sacrifice Raphaela, because I knew this was impossible. Therefore, I decided to play the villain myself, saving you from making a choice...

"If you want to blame me, then blame me. Blame me for almost causing your Raphaela to lose her life. Even if I did it so you could escape the sea of suffering... hehe, sometimes I really wish I did all this just to satisfy my possessiveness, simply because of jealousy wanting to kill those women coveting the Fisher who originally pertained only to me ten thousand years ago. Would such a ridiculous reason make you feel more at ease? Only unfortunately, I don't care about them, and they won't care about me either, so... let it be just like this."

With her words reaching this point, she also heaved a long sigh. She mumbled so softly, yet simultaneously closed her eyes. So under her casually descriptive words, Fisher couldn't read whether she was disappointed or not because all her previous preparations went down the drain.

She turned her head sideways, and also didn't resist Fisher. Following her slight sideways turning motion, her fragile neck was completely displayed before Fisher, just like waiting for him to personally snap it.

"..."

Fisher was silent for a moment. His hands gradually distanced from her shoulders. Yet Helaire remained utterly motionless, just like being exhausted and wanting to rest, even unwilling to move those slender golden eyelashes.

"Raphaela, is pregnant."

"... Oh, should I congratulate you, honey?"

Helaire didn't open her eyes, instead lifting her feet that had originally rested off the bed onto the bed. She gently grabbed the quilt Fisher had covered himself with just now and draped it over her body, curling up just like this. Subsequently, only then did she blink her eyes, looking at Fisher with a beaming smile and asking like this.

"I don't want to lose everything I've obtained, even if it meant losing myself to do so. Now I think so, and back in the Ideal State I thought so too... So, I'm very sorry for disappointing you, Helaire."

Helaire's curled up body flipped over inside the quilt. Because of curling up, the quilt obscured half her face, leaving only those blue-gold eyes looking at Fisher. From them, Fisher still couldn't decipher whether it was disappointment or not. Over course, Fisher also couldn't decipher any apologetic feelings.

Perhaps to Helaire, it was as it should be to be considerate for Fisher, but this didn't mean she had to be considerate for other females.

She just looked at the Fisher before her, suddenly asking,

"If my plan truly succeeded, and I killed Raphaela back then, would you never forgive me forever, even if you could survive because of it?"

"..."

Fisher opened his mouth, equally looking at her lying sideways beside him, without speaking for a long time.

Until a good while passed, Fisher finally felt her hand extend from under the quilt, grasping two of his fingers with ice-cold temperature.

"Only unfortunately, the one who knew all this and had the ability to save you is me, not her. Because, I can be certain of the answer you just wanted to say, and can also be certain whether she would save you by sacrificing me if everything was reversed. It's just that, I'm suddenly uncertain if, after reversing everything, you would be like unforgiving me, unforgiving the pregnant her..."

"..."

Fisher fell silent. He lowered his head, raising his other hand, wrapping her ice-cold palm that was pulling his fingers. Subsequently, only then did he softly say,

"I would unforgive myself, same for this time."

"Shish..."

Her curled up body drew closer to Fisher bit by bit, behaving like a little deer as she lay prone surrounding him. She said somewhat indistinctly,

"I'm suddenly a bit sleepy, seems like this is the first time in ten thousand years."

"... To an Angel, what is spending ten thousand years like?"

"I don't know, maybe to me it's not even thirty years?"

Fisher was somewhat not knowing whether to laugh or cry, thus asked in return,

"Really? Is an Angel's perception of time really so blurry?"

"Mm, after all, your thirtieth birthday hasn't arrived yet..."

Fisher opened his mouth. Right as he wanted to say something, it got choked in his throat again. He didn't release Helaire, merely sensing the ice-coldness transmitting from her fingertips, and subconsciously gripped a bit tighter.

He didn't speak anymore, merely heaved a sigh, just silently gazing at her appearance with closed eyes like this...

Scrutinizing himself and her in this room, these two chief culprits.

"Thump thump thump!!"

"Hey, Baimon you thousand-cuts deserving thing, where are you hiding?! If you don't come out I'll smash your doghouse aww!"

How long Fisher gazed at Helaire, a few minutes, over ten minutes, or perhaps longer. It wasn't until violent pounding sounds and Eliog's voice came from the adjacent wall that he finally shifted his gaze away from Helaire, who seemed to be sleeping soundly before him.

Helaire remained motionless, as if she hadn't heard anything. Only the fingers being held by Fisher trembled slightly, silently indicating to Fisher that this guy was awake.

Fisher glanced toward the direction of the sound, subsequently softly speaking,

"Eliog is outside."

"..."

Helaire still maintained her sleeping face motionlessly, just like a little bird curling its body within its wings, having already entered dreamland long ago.

Seeing she was unmoved, Fisher prepared to gently release her hand grabbing his and get up to find Eliog. As a result, before releasing, he felt her backhand grabbing him even tighter, making his motion to get up come to an abrupt end.

Raising his eyes to look, he saw her side cheek buried in the quilt, yawning while simultaneously rolling her eyes slightly. It carried quite the meaning of a stray cat outside seeking death by scratching the door, disturbing her sweet dreams.

"Sigh, cats in heat are truly annoying..."

"You mean Eliog?"

"Guess?"

"..."

Fisher darkened his face and reached his hand out, wanting to punish her. Yet Helaire had already nimbly released his hand. Following a flash of morning light, she concurrently appeared before a solid wall of this confined room. She smilingly looked at Fisher who grabbed empty air on the bed, spread her palm towards her, then gently knocked on the wall surface. The entire wall surface suddenly opened, revealing the outer desk and a room full of bookshelves.

Eliog was currently assessing all around in front of that desk. Seeing that wall hung with an oil painting of Helaire's back opening up, she subsequently walked in furiously. She skeptically swept a glance over the appearance inside. Seeing Fisher was fine, she wrinkled her nose, sniffing the suspicious scent within.

Perhaps precisely because she had done it before, therefore she needed to prevent any possible future troubles?

"Eliog, you've returned to the seal anew?"

"Aww, exactly..."

Eliog resentfully looked at the standing Helaire beside her, while simultaneously raising her arms—of which only a pair remained now—walking into the room, saying,

"Previously it was that Whale-kin little girl who used that whatever Base to release me. Here matters are finished, the Base disappeared, and me, Barbatos, and the others all returned to the seal. The soul power you gave me is quite a lot, should still be able to stay outside for a very long period... what, prefer the appearance of my main body more?"

"Your main body?"

Fisher froze slightly, only then recalling that blurry image he didn't have time to carefully appraise amidst the urgency at the time: that two-meter tall Eliog resembling a giant tiger possessing six arms.

How should he put it, thinking carefully it should arguably be quite...

"Mm, I suggest you don't say this kind of frightening words when his injuries just healed, easy to make people uncomfortable."

Eliog turned to look displeasedly at the beaming Helaire, her tail also swaying back and forth behind her. She sneered coldly,

"You thousand-cuts deserving thing, I haven't settled scores with you yet... oh, I almost forgot aww. Accurately speaking, you met Fisher first, so me leaving a mark on him first should be considered stealing your person? Therefore, rejoice, I'm too lazy to settle this messy account with you."

Facing the Eliog whose competitiveness suddenly burgeoned at this moment, Helaire looked at Eliog with a fake smile, replying,

"Rest assured, I am very magnanimous. I'm not a stray cat who pees everywhere she goes to mark territory."

During their speech, her peripheral vision silently glanced outside the door at that brand new wooden chair at the desk that had been replaced. Whereas Eliog froze slightly, equally looking towards there, suddenly recalling something. Even though she was in sharp opposition with Helaire right now, she suddenly became embarrassed.

"..."

Eliog's wheat-colored skin rose in temperature imperceptibly, and her tiger teeth were slightly clenched...

There was truly no other way. Because it had been too long since doing it, and because she held it in for too long, momentarily losing composure was unavoidable aww!

At this moment, Fisher who got out of bed also coincidentally saw that replaced wooden chair out

Beside the bed were clothes Helaire had prepared for Fisher. Fisher coincidentally saw it was a loose white robe of the standard Sanctuary style, also exactly the same outfit he always wore when spending time with Helaire ten thousand years ago.

Pinching the soft-textured clothing, he couldn't help raising his eyes to glance at Helaire leaning against the doorway. She smiled faintly, inexplicably explaining,

"Mm, I'm also a nostalgic Angel..."

Fisher froze slightly. Right after speaking, Helaire prepared to leave to let him change clothes. Yet at this moment, Fisher suddenly thought of the painting she hung below and the note she left on the back.

Back in the Sanctuary, she had also peeped at him while he was changing into the Sanctuary Angel robe, even though he himself hadn't discovered anything at the time.

Thinking of these nonsensical things, Fisher rapidly changed into the Sanctuary robe on his body. Then he sequentially tucked the two Completion Manuals placed at the head of the bed—which only he could see—into the inner lining of the white robe. The rest of the items had all been placed firmly within the title page of the Demi-Human Completion Handbook. He could even clip things whose volume didn't exceed it, like the Fluid Sword's hilt, inside. As long as he normally closed it, he could store them.

Ever since discovering this method, Fisher had treated it as a storage space in a certain sense. Only unfortunately, it could only store contents through the action of "clipping". Once items were larger than the Demi-Human Completion Handbook, it would become ineffective.

After placing the Life Completion Manual inside, he stroked the Demi-Human Completion Handbook shimmering with golden light. Seemingly feeling his touch, the handbook began to heat up, seemingly driving Fisher to flip it open.

He raised his eyebrows and opened it. An illusory text instantly appeared before his eyes,

[You have finished reading the Soul Completion Handbook. The biological and social research progress of Witches and Dragon-kin has reached 75%. All conditions to enter the sixteenth rank have been met!]

As that Completion Manual shimmered with golden light, Fisher felt the pain from the spiral scar on his chest lighten considerably. It seemed to be oppressed by this golden light, becoming increasingly stable and deepening into Fisher's body. Subsequently, an energy sufficient to alter Fisher's intensity returned from within, altering the state of his body...

[You have reached the sixteenth rank. Progress towards unlocking the seventeenth rank: 0%]

[Unlock conditions: Read any Completion Manual, and simultaneously research two Demi-human Girls of different species with any research progress above 50% (comprehensive research)]

Ah?

Simultaneous research? And also above 50%?

Wasn't this demanding Fisher's life?

Thinking carefully, right now those with over 50% research progress... which of them wasn't a female with whom he had an extremely close relationship? The kind where even meeting and getting along harmoniously was difficult, let alone researching together...

It seemed the only possibilities that might satisfy this were...

Fisher pondered for a moment, then proceeded to read the large pile of illusory text popping up below.

Something about the social and biological research of the Demon-kin making progress. But because he had already broken through the Mythical Rank, it didn't give anything in terms of stat enhancement this time. On the contrary, it granted two tangible items:

[You have unlocked rewards: Aoyun's Repair Essential Oil, Chaos Guide Manual]

[Aoyun's Repair Essential Oil: Possessing the "Construction Authority", a treasure from Aoyun, a Deity from the unknown faraway deep space. Before He forged the world, He once used the sharpest weapon He forged himself to strike the sturdiest armor. As a result, He actually broke the hammer He used to forge celestial bodies. What finally repaired the hammer was precisely this essential oil capable of repairing all tools and articles.]

[Contributor's note: Heard it also boosts virility, but I haven't tried it. You can try to see if it works, hehe~]

[Chaos Guide Manual: A manual used to record and detect Chaos. It is the secret treasure of a powerful Elf who hunted Chaos but ultimately fell into Chaos. The Demi-Human Completion Handbook will synchronize the Chaotic Knowledge you obtained. Concurrently, it can also detect the concentration of Chaos to provide you with assistance.]

[Contributor's note: What she fell into wasn't Chaos, but endless responsibility.]

"..."

Amidst Fisher's silence, following a flash of golden light from the Demi-Human Completion Handbook, two miraculous items appeared out of thin air in Fisher's hand just like this.

This bottle of essential oil...

Mm, felt like it could be used on the Fluid Sword. Ever since it became sluggish back in the Ideal State, it had never been able to stand up again. Since it was an item from a Deity, it should be effective on a treasure equally originating from Ramastia, right?

But what truly interested Fisher was this antiquated manual written in Elven text at the end. This manual resembled a small scroll woven from trees. Yet in Fisher's hands, he could always feel a smear of abnormal vitality, as bizarre as a lump of flesh and blood pulsating in his hand.

Flipping open the antiquated pages, what entered his eyes was a pink peach blossom petal. Judging from this, the original owner of this Chaos Guide Manual was obvious at a glance...

Beneath that peach blossom, there was another line of Elven text:

[Chopping off the branches of six giant trees cannot kill the giant trees. They will continue to grow, until their branches are leafy and lush, until bearing evil fruit.]

"Trees..."

Fisher was silent for a moment. He unfurled this manual—which resembled a scroll aside from its title page—revealing a fan-shaped blank space. Drawn atop it were the outlines of six trees, two above, four below.

The reason for such an arrangement was unknown for the time being. But in Fisher's hands, currently only two trees had names, one above and one below, respectively being:

[Ocean of Consciousness], [Usurped Carrier]

The remaining trees were entirely blank. Whereas the two named trees had densely sprouted branches and leaves. The leaves on the [Ocean of Consciousness] were exceptionally luscious, while the [Usurped Carrier] evidently had much fewer.

Fisher very quickly realized, these two trees correspondingly represented the two Completion Manuals he currently possessed. One was the [Soul Completion Handbook], and the other was the [Life Completion Manual].

As for why they were called these names on the trees, Fisher guessed these designations were highly likely for addressing the true origins of those chaotic powers, or perhaps describing the properties this Chaos possessed.

Both were possible, but Fisher felt the latter was more likely.

Because recalling his read of the Soul Completion Handbook, he would frequently see that pitch-black ocean. Although Caleb Uz also addressed the true master of that Sea of Souls this way, it was probably summarizing via form. The Life Completion Manual should also be the same.

And very quickly, Fisher discovered another strange matter.

Although the tree corresponding to the Soul Completion Handbook on this manual was already leafy and lush, the branches and leaves atop it seemed completely at a standstill, entirely different from the lifelike leaves of the adjacent Life Completion Manual.

Fisher initially thought his senses were mistaken. However, when he reached out to touch the adjacent "Usurped Carrier" tree, an arrow extended out amidst the swaying of those branches, seemingly a prompt, a guidance...

It used a bloody vocabulary word to tell Fisher a clue:

"Treasure".

This matter was done by him together with Eliog; truly speaking, the embarrassed ones should be the two of them.But since Fisher had done this matter a lot, he appeared calmer than Eliog, and could conveniently cover for Eliog who suffered a setback under Baimon's hand after a single clash.

"Does that mean the current Demon Dynasty has recovered to its former state again?"

"Putting it this way is correct, but it should be a bit worse than before." Eliog saw the beaming Helaire beside them staying silent, always feeling like she was subtly mocking her in that soundless tranquility. After glaring at her, she then continued,

"Because of that beast Solomon opening the ten gates, the authority of Death is more restless than at any given time in the past. Even though your human friend reclosed the ten gates, sealing Heya's consciousness, the hyperactive authority can no longer be retrieved. Therefore, this extra portion of authority is currently all upon Baimon... Hehe, she now is the same as us, forever imprisoned here to watch over Death."

Helaire just spread her hands, adding,

"But compared to these Demon Gods who fell under the Mother Goddess Seal, I should be somewhat freer. At least my consciousness can always stay awake and walk inside the Dynasty."

"You guy aww..."

Seeing the competitiveness inside Eliog beside them was about to be stimulated again, Helaire waved her hand at her like coaxing a child, saying apologetically,

"Sorry aww, wasn't intentionally trying to deal a blow to you who's about to lose consciousness and return to slumber soon."

Even Eliog's verbal tic was repeated once. This nearly made Eliog erupt on the spot.

"Shut up, you rat crawling in the gutter!"

"Sorry nah, little kitten in heat, touched a sore spot of yours... But I am an Angel oh. When I was still in the Sanctuary in the sky, you were a maggot scurrying in the mud, right?"

"If you have the ability, don't flee to our place, and then get blown to death when the Sanctuary falls aww..."

Simply Heavenly Thunder meeting Earthly Fire. Although they didn't directly fight, Fisher felt it was close. But at this moment he also suddenly discovered a blind spot, thus immediately opening his mouth to ask Eliog,

"Wait, you just said Solomon opened the ten gates to seek death, then Holland closed those ten doors? And now he is outside downstairs with Eimhart?"

"Aww, indeed so."

"..."

To Fisher's unexpectedness, Holland was an identical death-seeker as Solomon. He originally could have directly achieved his goal at that time, yet ultimately made a choice diametrically opposed to Solomon. And right now he was still waiting for himself outside Helaire's palace.

Fisher pondered for a moment, then rubbed his shoulders from the bed and stood up.

Although this wave was temporarily settled, he was still not very clear about the current situation and the future. Just like what Helaire said, he only considered the matter of "cannot let Raphaela die", yet knew nothing about the situation of the already initiated "World-Ending Prophecy".

He didn't regret doing so, but planning for the future was still necessary. And before that, he still had to have a rough basic understanding of the current situation.

Seeing Eliog and Helaire's gazes both look over, Fisher also coincidentally locked eyes with Helaire's loose blue-gold pupils for a moment. He paused slightly, then continued saying,

"I have to meet him once, and correspondingly check what the outside situation is like right now..."

"Mm, fine too, I'll wait for you here, honey."

"Tsk..."

Helaire had no intention of moving. Instead, Eliog beside her clicked her tongue in disgust, seemingly feeling a chill from the final appellation she called Fisher, also concurrently stepping further away from her, directly walking out of the room preparing to leave here together with Fisher.

"Treasure..."

Treasure, this term again. It was also exactly the final hurdle to finishing reading the Life Completion Manual.

This term was just like "the Angel guarding before the final high mountain" described in the Life Completion Manual. He couldn't bypass it nor hide from it, making him somewhat hesitant.

The current problem was that the World-Ending Prophecy had already begun. As the key to destruction, Fisher had to attempt to gather all the Completion Manuals, and then try whether he could suppress them one by one just like suppressing the Chaos within the Soul Completion Handbook.

At this moment, the leafy and lush tree beside Life Chaos had completely stopped moving. Fisher didn't know if it was because he had sealed it within his body, but it looked at least somewhat safer than the tree of Life Chaos that was still lifelike.

But to seal it, he had to read it. To read it, he needed to obtain the Treasure. To obtain the Treasure, did he need to repeat Erwind's actions?

He looked at the manual in his hand and fell into thought, unable to make up his mind for a while.

"Are you done aww? Why is just changing clothes so slow?"

Currently, Eliog outside was still waiting for him. Fisher's consciousness was also finally recalled by her speaking. He temporarily put it down and stuffed it together with the Demi-Human Completion Handbook into his embrace before walking out.

"Alright, let's go down and take a look."

"Aww."

Behind him, Helaire still lowered her head looking at that travelogue, merely smiling and waving her hand at Fisher.

Eliog yawned, unhappily glancing at the demure Helaire right now. The mouth she just opened closed again, seemingly muttering something.

Fisher walked down the stairs together with her. Even with the hearing of the Mythical Rank, he didn't know what she was saying, or perhaps she hadn't voiced those words at all, but Fisher still asked,

"What?"

"... Nothing, just happy I can finally rest peacefully again."

The World-Ending Prophecy had already arrived, yet the First Pillar Demon God of the Gate of Victory beside him was unexpectedly calm, making Fisher somewhat unable to help laughing as he asked,

"The consequences this time are so severe, yet it seems like you don't care at all?"

"Severe? Mm, indeed a little bit. Previously I heard those Demigods fought to the death without managing to burn the Crevice. Didn't expect this time what looked like petty squabbles actually produced such a disaster. While you were unconscious, I inspected that Base, it has already completely disappeared. Baimon waited so long to finally find an item capable of breaking the Mother Goddess Seal. To find another item allowing me to leave the seal, I'm afraid it won't be found anytime soon right now..."

Fisher pondered for a moment, subsequently proposing,

"What if we let the Mother Goddess lift your seal again?"

"Don't aww, absolutely don't, that's not realistic at all." Eliog shook her head, explaining, "The power to lift the seal requires the level of a Deity. And right now the Crevice is still in the process of burning. Having the power of a Deity influence reality again will only make the destruction arrive faster... Moreover, the seal that False God placed on us is holistic. Once the seal is lifted, all of us will run out. Heh, when that time comes it will truly be a chaotic hotchpotch of monsters and freaks, unable to do anything except add to the mess."

"Like this..."

"Well, as for meeting afterwards, of course we can meet anytime. It's just a bit more difficult than meeting Baimon that thousand-cuts deserving thing, requiring a bit of soul energy. Me stabilizing the authority of Death here should also count as helping you. Besides, isn't Baimon unable to go out too? Calculating it like this, neither of us won aww..."

Eliog glanced at Fisher who suddenly seemed somewhat disappointed, suddenly asking with a smile,

"What, want me to go out that much aww?"

"Indeed, if I couldn't see you, I would still feel regret."

Eliog's long ears and tail twitched, and a "gulu gulu" bubbling magma sound also emitted from within her chest cavity. Probably she was secretly pleased inside, her tail even wanting to strut and point at the second floor where Helaire was sitting. But on her face, after chewing on Fisher's words, she merely said somewhat meaningfully,

"I'll remember this sentence aww."

Fisher and Eliog continued walking forward until they walked out of Baimon's palace. Yet upon arriving outside, they didn't see Eimhart and Holland them.

Only after asking Eliog did he know it was because Eimhart that coward was afraid of Helaire, so he hidden very, very far away, almost going out of the Gate of Knowledge.

Fisher was speechless, and slowly followed Eliog to set out towards their location.

Perhaps to take care of the freshly recovered Fisher beside her, or perhaps wanting to speak a bit more with Eliog, the two of them didn't resort to flying into the sky or burrowing into the earth, just strolling like going for a walk in this gradually quieting Demon Dynasty.

Until Eliog suddenly thought of something, thus shaking the tail behind her with ill intentions and asking,

"Right aww, I helped you so much previously, shouldn't you repay me?"

Fisher froze slightly, smilingly saying,

"Alright ah, later I'll see if there's an opportunity to bring you precious weapons from outside?"

"Don't want aww."

"Armor?"

"Don't want aww."

"Mattress or pillows? Fine wine? Delicious food?"

"Don't want aww."

"..."

Fisher raised his eyebrows and turned to look at her. Only then did he discover she slightly raised her head, equally looking at Fisher with somewhat of a jealous flavor, subsequently asking,

"Baimon that thousand-cuts deserving thing, she called you honey aww?"

"Ah?"

"Ah what? If she wasn't calling you, was she calling a puppy?"

Fisher just didn't expect that Helaire's appellation for him just now would also be seized upon by her. He had thought she didn't care, yet didn't know she merely didn't show it just now, wanting to wait for him here.

Facing the questioning Eliog beside him, Fisher still replied helplessly,

"... Then she should have been calling me."

"Then what do you call her?"

"Helaire?"

"... Hmph."

Eliog crossed her arms. The flames behind her also became somewhat sharper in displeasure. Her tiger teeth rubbed inside her lips, and her eyes also unconsciously looked upwards, seemingly in thought.

Then before even thinking for several dozens of seconds, she listlessly yawned, seemingly that previous action caused huge damage to her brain and energy.

Thus she was about to drop it, directly turning to question Fisher to demand an answer,

"?"

Fisher actually couldn't answer Eliog for a moment, suddenly pausing in place. She then thought there were no words even more potent than this, her expression turning distressed, falling into her second brain-racking deep thought.

It wasn't until one or two seconds later that she glanced at Fisher, muttering somewhat irritably,

"Then it'll be like this aww. 'Honey' is her calling you. As reward for my helping you, you call me 'honey'... mm, yes, just like this."

Seemingly achieving victory in some bizarre bizarre area, which correspondingly boosted her spirits, making her not even yawn anymore, instead laughing joyfully. But just as she wanted to wonder why the Fisher beside her still hadn't called her, she was suddenly caught by his lowered head, capturing her cute lips, asking for the burning scorching heat within,

"Muah"

She blinked, yet also didn't resist. On the contrary, comfortable "purring" sounds transmitted again from deep within her throat.

It wasn't until several seconds later that she was released by Fisher, looking at him unable to help laughing,

"Thank you, honey."

"..."

Eliog didn't speak, merely crossing her arms while simultaneously subconsciously licking her tiger teeth with her tongue, as if that place suddenly became itchy.

Only in the next moment, her gaze suddenly dodged a bit. Set off by the tail standing up unsteadily behind her, that wheat-colored skin also gradually dyed a layer of imperceptible red, even its temperature began to rise somewhat uncontrollably.

Very quickly, she continued walking forward, incidentally saying somewhat absent-mindedly,

"Mm mm... alright aww, let's keep setting out!"

"..."

It seemed there was still a distance to go before the Baimon Demon God overcame her competitive nature.

"Fisher!! Great, you're fine ah!! I thought you must have been brutally beaten by that thousand-cuts deserving Baimon and then locked up in her castle to become... awooo!"

Very quickly, in the area outside the Gate of Knowledge, Fisher saw Holland and Eimhart resting there.

Holland had changed into a set of clothes whose origin was unknown. They looked extremely crude, carrying quite the flavor of a savage. Whereas the sighing Sir Book Artifact beside him seemingly sensed something from afar, rapidly flying over towards this side while speaking extremely "touching" words.

Only these words weren't finished speaking before he was grabbed by Fisher—whose face was covered in black lines—and interrupted.

Not far away, Holland also turned his head to look towards Fisher. The moment he locked eyes with him, Fisher suddenly felt as if something had changed about the person before his eyes, but this feeling was indescribable and unexplainable.

Just like a vibrant tender sprout suddenly growing out from within a patch of ruins. The moment it broke through the soil, that smudge of emerald green would abruptly occupy the entirety of one's vision.

"It's good that you're fine. That Priest was still worried your situation was bad before leaving. If it wasn't for Demon God Eliog..."

"Sorry for making you help me so much."

Fisher put Eimhart on his shoulder. Eliog behind him saw them start to converse, so she seemingly felt bored and looked around. Then she quickly found a relatively flat boulder, nimbly leaping onto it, lying on it comfortably, letting the people below unable to see her silhouette clearly.

And Fisher also arrived beside Holland. At this, Eimhart on his shoulder extremely excitedly told him about the various unforeseen events that happened after he left.

For example, when they discovered the Base didn't have the function of releasing those two Demon Gods, as well as the matter of Holland going forward to stop Solomon from opening the ten gates...

Upon hearing this matter for the second time, Fisher still felt doubtful. After all, it was unexpected that a death-seeker like him would actually stop Solomon at that time. Fisher absolutely didn't believe Holland didn't know Solomon's goal. When two undying ones saw each other, they should have been able to read their shared destiny right away.

After finishing listening, Fisher somewhat doubtfully raised his eyes to look at Holland, yet coincidentally saw his equally somewhat doubtful and contemplative expression. Feeling Fisher's gaze, he didn't look at Fisher, merely looking at the magma, sizing up that flowing scorching heat as he asked a question in return,

"Are you feeling surprised at why I did so?"

"... Ah. After all, according to my understanding, Hela was about to awaken at that time, and the authority of Death was also increasingly active. Even if your death was taken away, you should still have been able to die together with Solomon at that time."

"Mm, indeed so..."

While pondering, Holland reached his hand into his embrace, but ironically grabbed nothing. Only then did he recall the cigarettes and wine flask on his body had already been thrown into the magma.

He was somewhat regretful yet didn't withdraw his hand, instead always keeping his hand pressed against his own body, explaining,

"Because I promised Sir Book Artifact to help you. But to tell the truth, the relationship between you and me hasn't reached such an intimate level, or rather, to me 'relationships' are also merely illusions. Therefore, when Solomon invited me to go to my death at that time, I actually wavered. Even though I refused him, I gradually also had a vaguely discernible feeling... I felt that even if he opened the ten gates to directly face the authority of Death at that time, he wouldn't die."

"Wouldn't die?"

"Ah. Perhaps only with Hela's absolute awakening could it be possible to achieve. But even if the ten gates were opened, Hela Himself still refused to awaken. When we directly faced Him, I felt this point. And our undying immortality is precisely bestowed by the will-less authority of Death, so even directly facing it would be of no avail."

Holland smilingly shook his head, explaining to Fisher like this.

Fisher on the other hand was somewhat dumbfounded.

If in this world only Hela's awakening could lift their death, then fundamentally speaking they couldn't possibly die. Unless the entire world was destroyed by the World-Ending Prophecy, and then the slumbering Hela awakened, then there was still a bit of possibility.

But arguably at that time, Hela wouldn't care about this tiny "accident" anymore, right?

Was this an unsolvable proposition?

Fisher couldn't help thinking this way. Yet Holland before his eyes seemingly had a different train of thought from Fisher. He instead laughed and continued questioning,

"Fisher, have you ever thought about exactly how Agreas snatched death away from our bodies?"

"..."

"Does it sound very miraculous? Even if she is an Eighteenth-Tier Demon God, for such a thing, a great killer capable of killing any living creature, to be born in her hands still seems unbelievable. Even if she is a Demon God of the Gate of Curiosity and has such ability, normally speaking, the conditions to form a Death Rune definitely must be very harsh, and must conform to the Logic of Death."

Holland lowered his head a little, using his hand to cover his chest, feeling the weak pulsation within. His speaking speed also became a little bit faster,

"From the Logic of Death, it should be very simple. Just before I was stripped of my death, Agreas cast a spell from long-range, stealing away the death I obtained after triggering certain events, causing problems for my Logic of Death. And you should have already discovered, what I was stolen of wasn't just death, but everything after death. My inner heart could no longer generate any new feelings, and my body also stopped at the instant before being stripped of death...

"However, Fisher, the death bestowed by the authority of Death isn't finite. Which is to say, according to theory, for a True God-level authority, there is no such thing as the death belonging to that person disappearing after the bestowed death is stolen... Therefore, I have a guess. What Agreas stole actually wasn't my death, but rather stole our factor triggering death, thereby causing us to forever stop at the moment before death..."

Fisher frowned, feeling the miraculousness within it. He couldn't help turning his head back to glance at the sleeping Eliog in the back, saying to Holland,

"Is this your guess or... if you're not certain, we can awaken Agreas to ask her the specific method of stealing your deaths."

"Don't think about it aww. She was contaminated by your Chaos, and right now is still recuperating inside her main body. Arguably you won't see her for these several hundred years."

On the boulder behind them, Eliog's silhouette didn't appear, yet her voice transmitted over, dispelling Fisher's thought.

On the contrary, Holland laughed. He shook his head and said to Fisher,

"No need, Fisher. I just want to say, because Agreas stole my factor triggering death, originally I shouldn't have been able to remember anything. But right when stopping Solomon from opening the ten gates previously, I seemingly suddenly found that factor triggering my death..."

Holland's pale face smiled slightly. He concomitantly turned his head to look at Fisher, whispering,

"At that time, being forced by Solomon to see Hela's true body, I also suddenly recalled some matters the former me cherished... and in that instant, I actually wanted to live on..."

"... Wait, you mean?"

"Ah, I feel the factor triggering my death might be the thought 'I want to live on'?"

"Ah, I feel the factor triggering my death might be the thought 'I want to live on'?"

"..."

Fisher and Eimhart on his shoulder froze simultaneously. Yet at this moment, when Holland spoke this sentence, he appeared exceptionally calm. He merely turned his head looking at the distant magma, letting the scorching heat and brightness produced by that magma strike his face, bringing some warm colors to his originally pale, living-corpse-like cheeks.

"This is truly..."

Eimhart couldn't help but complain, and Holland completely accepted his words,

"Fate makes fools of people?"

"That's a bit of what I meant, but how is this possible?"

"Who knows?"

Holland cracked his knuckles, yet his mind had already thought through certain matters. He also gradually opened his heart to Fisher,

"In the place where I lived, there was war and famine every day. It was to have a mouthful of food to eat that I chose to leave my hometown and finally join the Cult believing in Hela. I merely had to tie my head to my waistband, keeping company with those lunatics. Actually, in essence, it was also to be able to survive... The members of those Cults would randomly assign numbers to members prepared for rituals to determine the sequence. I was relatively lucky but also relatively unlucky; I drew the last number...

"Therefore, after that, I watched the people lined up in front die tragically in experiments while simultaneously counting down on my fingers the days before it was my turn to perform the ritual. By now, I have already forgotten what kind of feeling that was, merely feeling what those counted down times should have meant to me... It should have been the desire for survival. Thus, as the time arrived, I finally couldn't overcome the fear of death and escaped from the Cult early, yet was caught by them during the escape process..."

Fisher also finally realized where Holland's stolen death came from. When he chose to escape the Cult because of the desire for survival and was caught, his death had already arrived. And Agreas also took his death away at that time,

"So, right now, in your inner heart you actually want to live on, right, Holland?"

"... Mm."

Holland pondered for a long time before seemingly confirming his thought with a sigh of relief. But Fisher didn't know whether he should congratulate him.

According to the concept of normal people, being able to live on was of course a matter worthy of joy. However, Holland's expression right now was extremely complex, making Fisher somewhat unable to grasp his thoughts.

Sure enough, in the next moment, Holland looking at the magma still spoke again,

"But I still decide to go die, Fisher."

"Hey, say it ain't so big bro. Didn't you just say you wanted to live on? Why the sudden change? Do you have split personalities?"

Eimhart opened his mouth, subsequently complaining somewhat speechlessly like this. Fisher didn't speak, merely casting an inquiring gaze at him.

Holland also laughed humorously. He shook his head and explained,

"Agreas stole away the factor triggering me, also leaving me forever in those days waiting for death in the Cult. I feel I am still in that cage, placing myself on the death list for a few days of full meals, waiting for someone to call my name and take me out. The death Agreas snatched away merely made the people lining up in front of me become infinitely many, making my inner heart become as placid as an ancient well. But, Fisher, I am already destined to be unable to escape this cage.

"How I think inside and the reality's outcome are an inevitable contradiction to me. When I want to live on, the death I lost will return. And when I want to go to my death, my everything will remain static like before... naturally also including death. It's just like a choice: either anxiously and urgently waiting for the nearly infinite numbered deaths in front, or fearfully, to survive, prematurely drawing the next number of death."

He fell silent for a moment. Reaching into his embrace, he took out an antiquated book with the words "Death Completion Manual" engraved on the cover, placing it before Fisher, another person who could see it,

"Fisher, if it were you, how would you choose?"

"... I would also choose to go die."

Fisher was silent for a moment, only then looking at Holland's eyes and saying,

"The latter might be a mistake, but the former, you have already practically experienced its pain and want to break away from it. If choosing either will bring regret, it's better to choose that option that does right by your past self, which is [Death]."

Holland smiled. He lowered his head and murmured,

"Mm, indeed makes sense. As expected of a scholar from Naris... But perhaps doing this makes me instead the [normal] one."

"Why?"

"Mm, because the arrival of death is sometimes inherently a contradiction with your thoughts. When you want to seek death, your life will subconsciously resist, bringing you extreme fear to make you give up this thought. Yet when you want to live on, no matter how your life struggles, to it it's just like a flickering candle flame, extinguishable with one blow. If this is the case, then let me die in contradiction."

At this moment, even Sir Book Artifact, this ordinarily talkative fellow, stopped being talkative. Fisher also maintained his silence. He opened his mouth, right as he wanted to say something, Holland again raised his hand and pointed in the upward direction, his expression also becoming somewhat more serious,

"Moreover, the situation up above right now is extremely severe. The Crevice has already begun to collapse. Although burning has a process, and moreover the Crevice is still Dagon's domain, He might be able to delay the time to a certain extent. But the destruction of the Crevice is definite. This might just be a start, especially since that undying old geezer also said, as long as these manuals still exist, the destruction will not stop...

"There are a total of six manuals, respectively corresponding to six origins of Chaos with different properties. Currently the whereabouts of four are clear. The Destiny Completion is with the old geezer, Death is with me, Life and Soul are with you. Whereas the Cardinal and the former President's Magic manual have unknown whereabouts. But based on the old geezer's research over these several thousands of years, their whereabouts are highly likely related to the Spirit World."

Six Completion Manuals, six origins of Chaos with different properties...

Fisher suddenly thought of the reminder Demi-Human Girl Con left for him through Cidi. She said "The existence attempting to destroy the world is 'one' or 'six'". If the six were the origins of these six Completion Manuals, then what was that "one" of the "or"?

"There's another matter. Previously, the method that whatever Baimon Demon God used to release the two Demon Gods wasn't the Base."

"Mm, I know this..."

Fisher already knew this matter just now when Eimhart talked about the emergency situation at that time. But he was just considering whether he still wanted to go ask Helaire about this matter, or not reveal this matter to Helaire and go investigate clearly himself, because even if he went to ask Helaire he couldn't confirm whether the answer he got was true or false.

Fisher had already decided to go collect all the Completion Manuals and attempt to resolve the World-Ending Prophecy his own way. He already knew the World-Ending Prophecy was related to those females he knew, because they were originally the people appearing in the prophecy of the Demi-Human Completion Handbook. What if Helaire still considered making him give up the World-Ending Prophecy to preserve himself, would he let go?

Rather than getting an answer whose truth or falsehood was unknown, it was better to wait for him to go find clues himself.

"... Mm, I know your relationship with that Baimon Demon God is unusual, but at this time I won't judge your private life. But if you don't want to exchange thoughts with her, I actually have a clue here that might be related to the method she used to release Agreas and Barbatos."

Hearing Holland mention Fisher's private life, Eimhart instantly perked up, wanting to speak like sharing experiences and self-thoughts with a fellow enthusiast. But Fisher had already anticipated his movement, gently reaching out his hand to grab him who wanted to speak,

"What clue?"

Holland pondered for a moment, subsequently questioning,

"It's just... mm, Fisher, have you ever heard of an Elf named 'Gui'?"

Fisher's pupils contracted slightly, and his brows also subconsciously furrowed,

"The youngest of those three Elf children."

"I don't know her. Only previously when Priest Jasmine used the power of the Base to expand into the Dynasty, I could similarly sense the situation within the Dynasty. Jasmine said she didn't sense the effect the Base was producing, so I investigated the situation of Barbatos's and Agreas's original seals. Then, I found two pieces of wood containing strange power at their locations. Gui wood, it should be related to the main body of a certain Elf... That kind of wood seemingly can produce a certain reaction with the Mother Goddess's power, which is why they were able to escape."

"..."

Gui's power could break the Mother Goddess's seal?

With Holland saying this, Fisher also suddenly remembered a matter.

Gui and Renee's appearances were identical, and right now Gui's whereabouts were still unknown. The Infinity Authority even birthed a new consciousness from death. Then could the Mother Goddess and Gui have produced some kind of connection?

And coincidentally, Helaire had met Gui, and even possessed a mirror Gui gave her. She even told her that she was the key to resolving the World-Ending Prophecy...

Fisher seemingly figured out the underlying logic, just not too clear why Gui's power could distort the Mother Goddess's seal, and what kind of relationship Gui and the Mother Goddess had.

"I know now. Thank you, Holland, this is a very crucial clue..." Fisher nodded and took a deep breath, subsequently asking Holland, "If you have already decided on what to do, what else can I help you with?"

Holland pondered for a moment. He stood up looking upwards, turning his head to say to Fisher,

"I indeed need you to assist me with one last favor... Right now you should also want to go meet Priest Jasmine and Queen Raphaela who are outside the Dynasty. Then let's go, we'll go above ground first and then I'll tell you the specifics."

Fisher also stood up and agreed, because he was indeed worried about Raphaela and Jasmine above and needed to confirm their status.

"Eliog?"

He turned his head wanting to notify the Eliog behind them. But calling her twice she didn't move. When Fisher jumped up to look, he discovered she had already fallen asleep sprawled out on her back, her mouth slightly parted inhaling and exhaling, looking like she was sleeping soundly.

"..."

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!"

Above the sky of the Southern Continent, a massive void was constantly spreading. That feeling of a certain space being burned was unfeelable by other ordinary living creatures. In the eyes of humans and demi-humans in the Southern Branch Mountain Range, they couldn't even realize what happened.

Miniscule individuals completely lost the ability to feel and measure before terrifying power. They could only let their survival instincts drag them to dodge. Only after the dust had settled and they happened to survive by fluke, could they use their limited senses to feel the traces left all around...

At this moment, the torrential rain finally stopped. After a day and a night passed, the sky of the Southern Continent cleared up anew, illuminating brightly the Southern Branch Mountain Range that got pierced through and oddly shaped overnight.

Living creatures couldn't see through the burning Crevice above, so they could only use the spreading Scarlet Mist within the Crevice for identification, thinking a red cloud that wouldn't dissipate and was currently spreading had merely appeared in the sky.

Human armies routed in their entirety. It would probably take fleeing several dozens to hundreds of miles northward to continuously report the situation here back. Natural disaster appearing, commander missing, massive army routing were the keywords. The Dragon Court's side was also roughly the same because Eliog and Barbatos fought all the way from here to the grand rear end of the Southern Continent. Therefore they also couldn't form formations, not to mention they also couldn't find their two leaders Raphaela and Jasmine. Right now they were still rescuing the wounded and calculating losses, while some troops were searching for the Queen on the battlefield below.

Fisher, Holland, and Eimhart very quickly passed through a portal out of thin air to arrive above ground.

Previously after Eliog fell asleep, Fisher could only bring Holland to return to find Helaire first. He needed a portal to leave the Dynasty.

And Helaire also generously gave the rune for the portal outside her palace to Fisher. Borrowing this piece of rune, Fisher could open a portal leading to her palace at any location on the Southern Continent.

Just upon coming out, Fisher's attention was attracted by that extremely oppressive Crevice rift above his head. Just like Holland said, the Crevice was collapsing, but it still required a certain amount of time.

Looking at this momentum, estimating it could still hold out... one or two months?

Fisher looked at that Crevice rift that had already spread to several hundreds of miles in radius after a day and a night, his expression also appearing somewhat serious.

"Fisher!!"

Exactly at this time, a silhouette assessing this side first appeared not far away. Subsequently, Jasmine's shouting voice also quickly transmitted over, making Fisher hurriedly look toward that side.

He stepped on the ground and hurriedly went to Jasmine's side. Looking at her face completely covered in sand and dust formed by the storm Barbatos whipped up previously, even her blue hair above accumulating some dust, yet still unable to conceal her joy and elation upon seeing Fisher. Just upon landing she threw herself into his embrace,

"Jasmine..."

"Great, Fisher, it's really great that you're fine!"

Jasmine buried her head in his embrace. Subsequently she suddenly thought of something, pointing at the sand dune not far away saying,

"Raphaela is right over there. Previously because she was affected inside the Demon Dynasty, her progress was particularly slow, to the point she hasn't awakened until now... But it should be soon. Raphaela will also immediately arrive at the Mythical level of life."

Jasmine first spoke happily like this, but very quickly her expression again revealed some imperceptible loneliness.

Because she hadn't reached Mythical yet, still circling before the doors of the Mythical Rank. Although she indeed felt genuinely happy for Raphaela, comparing herself who remained stagnant, she would still feel somewhat disappointed.

Fisher noticed her thoughts. He hugged her tightly into his embrace, whispering,

"It's alright, Jasmine. Previously if it wasn't for you I might have died down below, thank you."

"Hehe..." Hearing Fisher's praise, Jasmine's mood improved a bit again. She nodded and said, "Although it seems I didn't help much, being the first person Teacher Fisher thanked is also very worth it."

"..."

Mm, but hadn't he already thanked Eliog just previously?

Forget it, it's alright. Let's just go with what Jasmine said.

"Sir Book Artifact! Mr. Holland! You guys are also fine... oh, I almost forgot Mr. Holland's situation."

Holland smilingly nodded at Jasmine. Subsequently he raised his head looking at the sky, looking at that illusory Scarlet Mist, looking at the sunlight falling from within it and the clouds shuttling through it. Finally he took a deep breath, turning his head saying to Jasmine and Fisher,

"Then this will be it. It's also time to say goodbye. Priest Jasmine, goodbye."

"Eh? What do you mean?"

Jasmine pursed her lips, still not understanding what Holland meant. Yet Eimhart flew to her shoulder and shook his head to her.

"Are you in such a hurry?"

"Ah, I'm not too clear either, but I feel right now is the most suitable time. After all, haven't I waited for so long already?"

"... True." Fisher smiled bitterly. Subsequently he left Jasmine's side and walked toward him, asking, "Is there anything I can help with?"

"Mm, come over here with me. Then, I need a blade, then you use that blade to decapitate me, just like an execution."

At the end, Holland added another sentence,

"The ritual I drew back then was precisely the Beheading Ritual. That group of lunatics thought dying decapitated, consciousness detached from the body, could approach Hela closer."

"... I understand. Then give me a bit of time, I will prepare the blade."

"It's fine, I also need to make a bit of preparation."

Holland smiled palely. Subsequently he walked a distance away with Fisher, taking off his outerwear, followed by his shirt, until completely exposing his extremely emaciated, malnourished, and hunchbacked upper body.

Fisher was silent for a moment before sitting on a mound of dirt to the side. At the same time he took out Aoyun's Essential Oil and the Fluid Sword's hilt from the Demi-Human Completion Handbook.

That essential oil was completely colorless, packaged in a glass bottle exactly like a bottle of clear water. It made Fisher skeptically shake the liquid within, somewhat suspecting if Demi-Human Girl Con packaged the wrong thing.

"Haha... Fisher, have you done this kind of thing before?"

"... Executions no, but I have killed others."

"True, in this age every Naris person's body is more or less stained with blood."

After taking off his upper body clothing, he began to forcefully tear his shirt, tearing it into cloth strips with extreme force. This made his malnourished physique somewhat unable to bear it, thus starting to pant heavily.

Fisher smiled faintly. He opened the cap of the essential oil in his hand. Instantly, a pungent smell of quenching fire surged to the tip of his nose, making him move his head away a bit.

He glanced at the Holland whose actions were unknown. He coincidentally saw his calm visage, so he asked,

"Your expression doesn't look like an expression of not wanting to die at all."

"Mm, maybe a little bit. After all, the me in the past who extremely wanted to die was also me. Probably under this kind of circumstance my death won't arrive. Previously when I fell out of the ten gates into the magma, mid-air, I was thinking whether I would fall to my death just like this, felt fear, felt like not wanting to die, and then... I sensed the existence of death. But when I was plunging, I thought again, 'Isn't this what I pursued', just wanting to die like this, yet unexpectedly after falling into the magma I still didn't die..."

"Then you still told me to chop you, what if I have to continuously chop you hundreds of times, until waiting for the time you find you don't want to die?"

"There is this possibility."

"..."

Holland panted while tearing down a long strip of cloth, joking with Fisher. Subsequently he held that cloth strip and turned his head to look at Fisher, saying,

"You can begin."

Immediately following, he knelt on the ground while wrapping the cloth strip around his eyes, wrapping circle after circle, binding tightly.

And Fisher also lowered his head, dripping the essential oil drop by drop onto his Fluid Sword.

Originally Fisher thought there was such a large bottle of this essential oil, he only needed one or two drops to repair the Fluid Sword, the rest could be preserved for future use. The result was dripping one or two drops was totally useless, just as useless as middle-aged gentlemen in Naris with male dysfunction drinking a tiny drop of Dragon-kin blood.

Simply taking the plunge, he poured all the essential oil onto the hilt of the Fluid Sword.

Miraculously, those essential oils falling on the Fluid Sword were entirely absorbed by it. Not a single drop fell onto the ground or Fisher's hand, instead all entering within.

And immediately following, that Fluid Sword which had been sluggish for a long time finally grew bit by bit with the help of the "virility booster" under Fisher's expectant gaze. That mercury-like blade finally expanded anew, revealing its sharpness.

Looking at the prepared "tool of torture" in his hand, Fisher only then slowly walked toward Holland who was kneeling on the ground with his upper body bare, with his back to him.

He lowered his head, placing his hands clasped behind his back. The spine that was already deformed from his hunched back became extremely prominent at this moment due to his emaciation.

"When should I chop, do you need a preparation given to you?"

"... Don't need to. But best wait a little while longer. A while later, no need to tell me the time, just make your move."

"Alright..."

Fisher took a deep breath, raising the blade, aiming it at Holland's neck. Jasmine watching all this not far away also held her breath and covered her mouth.

"... Safe travels, Mr. Holland Dionysus."

"..."

Holland didn't reply anymore, merely lowering his head.

The wind of the Southern Continent was always clamorous, let alone at this moment when a storm was brewing. Yet inside Holland's ears it was dead silent, even a loud noise resembling tinnitus emerged.

The beauiful moments of the past constantly replayed in his head, attempting to use this method to awaken hope for life, fear of death, and then following a logical course be able to die.

But unfortunately, he couldn't remember anything. Even his beloved childhood sweetheart Leica couldn't awaken his hope.

She was already dead, and he wasn't yet, so he should go die.

No, why should I be thinking about wanting to die? If that's the case...

Behind him, Fisher's movement didn't move from start to end. Time became exceptionally long drawn-out at this moment, as if every second's increment was extended, making him exceptionally tormented, tormented in the contradiction of forcing himself to think about not wanting to die yet always thinking about wanting to die.

"Buzz buzz buzz..."

But behind him, Fisher's blade didn't fall from start to end. This made Holland also increasingly doubtful why he still hadn't chopped. Because at this moment Holland himself also couldn't confirm it, his true thoughts in his inner heart. He merely looked forward to Fisher hurrying to let the blade fall, freeing him.

"Buzz buzz buzz..."

Yet amidst a sheet of tinnitus and blindfolded darkness, someone suddenly gently patted Holland's shoulder.

Next second, an unfamiliar, calm, somewhat hoarse man's voice suddenly softly sounded beside his ear. That unknown man softly spoke to Holland in Cardo Language,

"Next one, your turn."

"..."

Behind Holland's kneeling body, Fisher—whose voice was altered using Life Chaos—slowly stepped back a pace. Subsequently he gently raised the Fluid Sword in his hand aiming at his neck.

He didn't know what Holland was thinking about. But before the Fluid Sword in his hand fell, Holland's head suddenly split from the neck on its own.

"Puff itchi!"

Amidst splattering of countless blood, Holland's headless body also suddenly lost support and crashed onto the ground, walking into the embrace of death.

"Thud!"

As Holland's headless corpse collapsed onto the ground, Fisher also slowly lowered the raised blade in his hand, lowering his head and silently chanting a sentence, "May the Mother Goddess bless you."

The Death Completion Manual had already been placed aside when he took off his outerwear just now. Fisher reached out to pick it up. At the same time he touched the book cover, an extremely bizarre feeling also surged into his heart.

It was as if his body had been permeated by some dirty thing, making him feel uncomfortable all over, making Fisher subconsciously glance at his own skin, yet not seeing any signs of being stained by dirt.

And next second, this weird feeling also instantly vanished, as if it had never existed, returning to normal.

"..."

At this moment, he simultaneously felt Tao Gong's Chaos Guide Manual slightly trembling.

He hurriedly reached out and took it out to open. Sure enough, just as he deduced, among the phantoms of the four large trees below, a line of new names suddenly appeared, taken in entirely by Fisher's eyes,

"End of Impurity..."

The newly changed hands Completion Manual had not yet had its Chaos power grow, so this large tree was bare, without any leaves around it.

Temporarily not receiving other information, Fisher stored the Death Completion Manual and Chaos Guide Manual into his embrace, incidentally stepping forward to use the Fluid Sword to quickly dig a pit in the ground as Holland's eternal resting place.

Although he was a West Continent person, in Fisher's view, he probably didn't have that kind of longing for his hometown. After all, when he was there he could only feel hunger and slaughter

"What's wrong? Why keep looking at me for what?"

"Raphaela, do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"

"You mean in my heart?"

These words were spoken to Fisher, and also seemed to be spoken to Jasmine.

"..."

Jasmine blinked her eyes, only then realizing after the fact to let go of Fisher's arm, taking a step back somewhat awkwardly, but also only one step.

"... I mean physiologically."

"Physiologically?"

Raphaela became even more puzzled. She raised her own arm, seemingly thinking Fisher was worried about her physical state after her transformation, thus saying happily,

"How could that be? Right now I feel incredibly good, is this what you mentioned previously... Mythical Rank? Rest assured, I am incredibly good. Moreover, those demons have finally disappeared. Next it's also time to let the group of beasts in the north who betrayed our compatriots to side with Naris taste the price."

Seemingly afraid Fisher wouldn't believe her, she even waved her own fist. Just a casual movement could bring a huge howling of the wind, yet it made Fisher's scalp tingle watching, hurriedly reaching out to press her down,

"Wait, Raphaela, don't be so excited first. I mean, did you not feel anything at all?"

"Feel? Feel what?"

"You might not... I mean I'm certain, you are pregnant. Previously in the Dynasty, I saw with my own eyes the Spirit World's locking onto the fetus in your womb. You should know, this is the symbol of life gestating..."

Raphaela opened her mouth. That raised arm also instantly went soft in Fisher's hand. Subsequently she looked astoundedly at the person before her eyes, seemingly having suddenly failed to understand Fisher's words.

Whereas everyone around, Jasmine, Lar including Eimhart, all widened their eyes, all looking at Raphaela.

"What did you... say?"

"Wait, Raphaela, you have Teacher Fisher's..."

"Holy crap, Fisher you're for real?!"

Eimhart directly flew up, his head flashing golden light as if unable to process it. At first he thought this was an April Fool's joke, but thinking carefully, who would use this kind of method to joke?

This also meant, a new life truly existed within the body of this Dragon-kin named "Raphaela".

Ah?

Of course, for the majority of living creatures in this world this was a joyous occasion. Even Gabriel back then when she obtained a child by making a wish through the Holy Grail also poured all her love into it, obtaining happiness from it.

Then, what about the so-called "minority"?

Either, they were too young and fragile, people without the ability to raise a brand-new life. In the past, students of the Royal Academy often encountered such situations. Another type, was that group of Naris gentlemen who had wives yet still behaved promiscuously outside...

Of course among Naris ladies there was also no lack of such debauched existences betraying their contracts. But unlike gentlemen, they could shamelessly disguise it as their own husband's child.

Fisher's situation definitely resembled the latter right? After all he was a male who had married in the Northern Territory, and besides this, he also greedily forged ties with many ladies.

Fortunately, that Northern Territory Phoenix Lady Valentiina should still be slumbering right now. If she knew her husband had a child with someone else outside...

"Lady Raphaela, I will immediately report this matter to the Dragon Court and Lady Yali'er, then bring a few doctors over. Regarding the Northern Expedition we can discuss it later. Anyway, let's first return to the Dragon Court to confirm the child's and your body's condition..."

Lar came back to her senses, hurriedly taking off the mask on her own face, speaking somewhat excitedly like this,

"Doing this we can also smoothly introduce Fisher to the entire Dragon Court. Right now with the joyous news of the great victory and the Dragon Court having a successor, Fisher can officially marry Lady Raphaela!"

"Eh?"

Raphaela blankly touched her lower abdomen covered by armor. Honestly speaking she hadn't felt anything yet, hadn't even recovered from the previous shock, so for a moment she didn't keep up with Lar's train of thought.

But before Lar finished speaking, Jasmine and Eimhart simultaneously opened their mouths,

"No way!"

"Wait, no way!"

Raphaela blankly looked at Jasmine who subconsciously spoke. The Lar beside her perhaps already had preparations, because she and Mill as well as her husband Buer had a very good relationship, and Faxir and Kexir had also already told her the absurd things that happened in the rear.

This was indeed a difficult problem. One was an intimate comrade-in-arms and sister she had gotten along with for four and a half years, one was the first love who saved Raphaela's life five years ago and changed her fate and life. So Lar also found it hard to express her viewpoint.

But what kind of monster or freak was this ugly book of yours, what words are you opening your mouth to say?

"Jasmine..."

Fisher also turned his head slightly stunned to look at the suicide bomber truck Jasmine beside him. Seeing her face turn totally red from holding it in, only then realizing after the fact to supplement,

"R-Right now it hasn't ended yet. There's still the Fake Dragon Court in the north, and Elizabeth of Naris in the West Continent... Right now is... anyway it's probably not too good..."

Raphaela opened her mouth, subsequently lowering her head saying,

"But, if I'm pregnant, I should give him an identity that the Dragon Court can accept."

Jasmine pursed her lips, changing to another reason,

"Then right now the Crevice is opened, everything is very dangerous, so..."

"But, what does this have to do with me already having a child?"

"..."

Whatever Jasmine said, she would be beaten back retreating steadily by that simple sentence, temporarily powerless to fight anymore. Whereas the Eimhart on Fisher's head remembered those terrifying ladies. What if Raphaela announced to the entire world right now,

"Haha, I have Fisher's child, I'm also going to marry him. You are all defeated dogs, from now on he is mine, hahahaha!"

Always felt, some baffling enemies would inexplicably appear.

The kind of enemies arriving from all corners of the world, Naris and the Northern Territory reacting especially strongly.

And with high probability Fisher was going to suffer disaster. If he suffered disaster, what should the pitiful... oh no, the great Sir Book Artifact do?

Therefore, it was better to take preventative measures, quickly find an excuse to hide away first ah!

Fisher, make a move quickly ah! Why do you not have the desire for survival at this time! Quickly say something ah!!

Under the hinting of Eimhart's eyes with an extremely strong desire for survival, the Fisher beneath him remained motionless, as if dumbfounded.

And Raphaela also realized after the fact and came back to her senses. She reached out to touch her lower abdomen, seemingly only at this moment faintly realizing she had a life in her womb. And also exactly as Lar said, the arrival of this life not only meant her and Fisher's love had a result, but could also give her a perfectly justifiable reason to let the Dragon Court accept Fisher.

An heir that countless tribes had worried about and pleaded for over many years, a powerful human who helped the Dragon Court achieve victory in war, a husband acknowledged even by Yali'er.

They all say one sees the rainbow after the storm, Raphaela just didn't expect this rainbow to come so suddenly...

Her inner heart couldn't help but feel joy. She shot a glance at the dumbfounded Jasmine beside her and Eimhart on Fisher's head. She merely gently suppressed her upturned corners of the mouth, coughing once, shaking the dragon tail behind her saying,

"Alright, talk about this kind of thing later. If this is the case we should also first let the Dragon Court's doctors confirm it... I didn't understand much about this aspect before. Anyway, we will first handle the aftermath work here, and then we will..."

"Imp-Impossible..."

"Eh?"

Raphaela froze slightly, only then discovering the child's father, Fisher, hadn't spoken for a long time. She hurriedly looked at Fisher, only to discover his face was somewhat pale, and a layer of fine cold sweat had broken out on his forehead, looking at Raphaela's lower abdomen with a face full of disbelief.

"Fisher, what's wrong with you?"

"Raphaela, wait a moment!"

Fisher didn't give any explanation, merely suddenly taking a step forward half-kneeling before Raphaela, subsequently reaching out to place his hand on her lower abdomen, seemingly sensing something.

"W-What's wrong?"

Raphaela asked doubtfully, but Fisher still maintained a serious expression, even having a feeling of panic. His hands trembling, he surprisingly reached out directly to pry open the armor at Raphaela's lower abdomen,

"Raphaela, I have to take off the armor here, you wait a moment..."

"Ah, okay... but, what exactly is wrong?"

"... Could it be Fisher saw it wrong previously?"

The bystander with a clearer view Lar hurriedly walked to Fisher's side, asking such somewhat anxiously.

If by a ten thousand to one chance he saw wrong, then all that joy just now would be for naught.

But Fisher didn't reply to her, merely using all his strength to tear open that armor piece, directly reaching out his hand to place it on Raphaela's lower abdomen separated by a layer of fabric.

And his expression became increasingly pale, increasingly disbelieving,

"No..."

It looked like, it was even more severe than seeing it wrong.

Raphaela lowered her head, looking at Fisher before her eyes whose expression suddenly became like this, unable to help asking,

"What exactly is wrong, Fisher?"

"... The Spirit World's locking onto you... has disappeared."

"Meaning you saw wrong previously?"

"No..."

Fisher's eyeballs trembled slightly. His hand pressing against Raphaela's lower abdomen seemingly felt a tiny bit of fragile vitality, that fetus currently gestating at Raphaela's lower abdomen,

"He is still there, but..."

Yes, Raphaela stepped into the Mythical Rank.

At this time, Fisher whose brain was previously occupied by other matters finally remembered this complication.

Existences of the Mythical Rank cannot reproduce. Mythical Rank mothers with body and soul unified cannot have their fetuses locked onto by the Spirit World and bestowed a soul. They were stripped of the right to reproduce by the deities of creation, which is known as: Sin of Reproduction.

This also meant, Raphaela was currently walking Moon Princess's old path.

What was about to be born from her belly, was a stillbirth without a soul, only an empty shell.

At the northern end of the Southern Branch Mountain Range, the Dragon Court's army appeared exceptionally busy. Although the previous war seemingly achieved victory bafflingly and unaccountably, and they didn't even participate in the front-line slaughter at all, their losses were not small in the slightest.

First it was the storm caused by Barbatos opening the portal, subsequently it was the head-on battle between Barbatos and Eliog, two Eighteenth-Tier beings. Although they had already stayed as far away from here as possible, just a little bit of the aftermath was not something these ordinary armies could bear.

The Human Allied Army and the Red Dragon Court's army were scattered like this and lost their formations. Previously after Lar woke up, she anxiously and hurriedly went to find Raphaela's traces. Only at this moment did they finally have the opportunity to gather the army, confirm losses, and collect the spoils of war left behind by the fleeing Human Allied Army.

Of course, these soldiers only knew the news that their Dragon Queen was still alive. Regarding the situation of her pregnancy and the Red Dragon Court having an heir, they were completely unaware. Because even at that time Raphaela and Fisher were still in a temporarily set up tent, anxiously analyzing the current situation.

Honestly speaking, the one mainly anxious was still Fisher, because the other people perhaps still hadn't figured out the situation clearly at this moment.

Fisher stood at the entrance of the tent, looking seriously at the movements of the Dragon Court soldiers outside, but actually his gaze was drifting, seemingly thinking about the method to resolve this matter.

Inside the room, Raphaela, Jasmine, and Lar all looked at him and the Eimhart on his shoulder. They, who didn't have a very deep understanding of the Mythical World, still didn't understand why Fisher suddenly became so anxious.

Ultimately, it was still Raphaela who spoke first,

"Fisher, if that Spirit World's locking onto the child in my womb disappeared, what will happen to him?"

"He will lose his soul, Raphaela, becoming a shell without a soul."

Eimhart sighed, also speaking somewhat distressedly like this,

"The bodies of Mythical Rank existences will turn into a strongly unified state of body and soul combined. Under this kind of circumstance, the Spirit World has no way to lock onto the little life gestating within your body to bestow him a soul. Even if the Breeding Rank is sufficient, Mythical Rank existences are still unable to give birth to their own offspring..."

And Raphaela froze slightly, suddenly recalling those walking corpses in Pherone City who had their souls snatched back then.

Unlike them, her child might have to suffer this kind of misfortune from birth.

Thinking of this, she covered her lower abdomen, her complexion unavoidably becoming pale, and her voice trembling,

"Then is there really no method to resolve this problem?"

"Method? This..."

Eimhart opened his mouth, suddenly not knowing how to answer, thus turning his head to look at Fisher. Yet he still looked outside, remaining silent with an ugly expression.

Method?

A method might exist, but if it was truly that easy, then what Moon Princess birthed wouldn't have been a stillbirth. If it was truly that easy, then why would Gabriel still go make a wish to the Holy Grail for a child?

Although there was no longer a limitation on the number of Mythical Species now, where was Fisher supposed to go find a Holy Grail capable of realizing wishes?

But exactly at this moment, Fisher suddenly realized something. He turned his head to look at Jasmine and asked,

"Wait, Jasmine, you should be almost one hundred and sixty-five years old this year right?"

"Ah, yes."

Jasmine nodded. And the Raphaela beside them obviously also knew exactly how the age of Whale-kin was calculated. Because back then when they just got acquainted with Jasmine and she said she was only two years old, Raphaela almost dropped her jaw from shock.

Fisher hurriedly walked back from the entrance of the tent, his expression also becoming extremely doubtful,

"Yeah, but your mother is the God of Destruction Xuan Can, this is precisely the problem... She reached the Demigod level as early as during the Mythical War several thousands of years ago, being the most powerful existence among the Mythical Ranks. Yet she had you, and still within the recent two hundred years? If we exclude the possibility that you are not her biological daughter, then she definitely has a method to overcome the difficult problem of the offspring of Mythical Ranks being unable to possess souls!"

"Yeah, Jasmine, I almost forgot you are the daughter of the God of Destruction! Won't it be easily solved if you go ask the God of Destruction?!"

The Eimhart standing on Fisher's shoulder also remembered this complication, looking at Jasmine with a sigh of relief as he said.

"Eh, me?"

Jasmine opened her mouth, seemingly having some hesitation.

But looking at the Fisher before her eyes who finally found some hope with great difficulty, she ultimately still pursed her lips and said smilingly,

"Then I... will go back and ask mom right now. I will set out immediately."

"No way."

Yet the Raphaela beside them suddenly spoke resolutely and decisively, making the Jasmine who had just wanted to stand up look towards her.

Raphaela looked at Jasmine, then looked at Fisher with a sigh, saying entirely decisively,

"Fisher, do you not know how Jasmine came out from her mother's place? She made a promise with her mother to enter the Mythical Rank before an inevitable time arrives in order to let her leave the ocean. I don't know what that time is, nor do I know whether the current situation is it, but fundamentally, she made the promise with her mother to leave the ocean for you... Now you want her to return to her mother's side to seek an answer for your child in my womb. Do you actually think a character like her would tolerate your method of doing things?"

Eimhart also died down, instantly breaking out in a cold sweat.

Yes, just now because of the child's emergency situation, they were somewhat seeking any help in desperation.

Thinking carefully about it, the daughter of the God of Destruction didn't hesitate to violate her wishes to reach an agreement to come ashore for a human. Now the agreement hadn't been fulfilled yet, as a result her daughter still ran back to seek help from her for another woman of that scumbag?

Xuan Can not helping and locking Jasmine in the ocean could already be considered merciful. With her reputation during the Mythical War, the greater possibility was directly coming up and scattering Fisher into ashes instead.

"..."

Fisher also knew the reasoning within, but he still pondered somewhat.

After all, Moon Princess's cautionary tale was still placed right before his eyes. The only offspring of a Mythical Rank that had a good ending was precisely the Jasmine before his eyes. Nowadays Gou Wen was in the Spirit World. Xuan Can was the existence most likely to know the answer. He was merely...

Things not falling on one's own head won't make one know the pain. Returning to that time, he didn't understand the sadness beneath Moon Princess's calm words at all. He couldn't imagine exactly how painful it was for her to helplessly watch her own bloodline turn into walking corpses, and even be reduced to targets for humans to steal blood...

But the Dragon Queen didn't lose her sense of proportion. She was also the mother of the child.

"Alright, I said no so it's a no. He is also my child, of course I worry about his safety, but we absolutely cannot act recklessly... We will think of another method."

Raphaela sighed, yet still persisted in her own viewpoint. Looking at Jasmine she advised,

"Jasmine just braved life and death together with us to resolve the previous suffering, moreover she also... Anyway, we can still think of other methods. For a Dragon-kin to give birth to an offs

"Alright alright, Fisher, don't be anxious first. Everyone go rest a bit and eat something first, we still have time, okay?"

It was still Raphaela who first couldn't stand watching it anymore. She stood up, first patting Jasmine's shoulder, subsequently walking to Fisher's side and using her tail to pat his waist.

Waiting until Fisher came back to his senses and looked at her, he saw the scales on Raphaela's body flattening down bit by bit. At the same time she opened her arms to him,

"We just narrowly escaped death, and even resolved such a big trouble. Not even having the time to rejoice yet being so gloomy and distressed, how can that do? Come here..."

"..."

Fisher slightly lowered his head and hugged her, feeling her warmth tightly pressing against him, feeling her face buried at his shoulder,

"Alright, relax a bit, don't be anxious... I seem to be able to feel his existence, he is still alive, there is still a chance."

"Okay..."

Subsequently, Raphaela released Fisher, walking out of the tent like setting an example, lifting her spirits to go direct the Dragon Court army to confirm losses and seize spoils of war, among a series of other actions.

And Lar after casting a glance at Fisher also hurriedly kept up with Raphaela, walking quickly out of the tent.

"Teacher Fisher, I-I also want to go to the seaside again to try and see if I can contact Lord Ramastia."

Jasmine whose thoughts were somewhat unpeaceful also hurriedly stood up, saying like this to Fisher.

Evidently, what she wanted to confirm might not just be this answer, but also regarding her own mystery of birth.

Why had she never seen her own father since birth?

Why was the gap between her and mom so huge?

Could it be she wasn't mom's biological child? If so, why was her mom clearly a Mythical Species yet able to give birth to her?

All sorts of these questions drove Jasmine wanting to leave here, but right at the time of leaving Fisher actually pulled her back, making her turn her head to look at Fisher,

"Teacher Fisher?"

"Sorry, Jasmine. Previously I was just too anxious, unable to wait to want to know the method to save the child, so I told you to go meet your mother to seek an answer. I didn't consider the consequences within."

"I know, Teacher Fisher, I didn't take it to heart. I just suddenly became a bit uncertain whether I am actually mom's child so..."

Fisher smiled bitterly, suddenly recalling the appearance of that Whale-kin barefoot doctor back then,

"... You must be the child of Xuan Can and Gou Wen."

"Eh? W-Why?"

"Mm... realistically speaking, when I was in the Northern Territory I similarly encountered a Mythical Rank Phoenix who was pregnant. Five to six thousand years ago, her child was treated by a Whale-kin doctor who is highly likely your father. And after so long, with his intelligence and love for your mother, he might have already found the method for you to be born."

Jasmine pursed her lips. At the same time her heart warmed she also couldn't help asking,

"Why does it feel like Teacher Fisher is very familiar with my dad's appearance?"

Fisher's forehead couldn't help breaking out in some sweat. He couldn't just say I used to call your dad brother right. He could only say,

"Moon Princess is very grateful to that Whale-kin doctor who might be your father, so she told me a lot."

"Like this..."

Jasmine smilingly lowered her head, and also suddenly opened her arms to hug Fisher,

"Thank you, Teacher Fisher. I will try to help you and Raphaela find the answer."

Having spoken, she also released Fisher, subsequently walking quickly out of the tent, heading rapidly towards the extreme distance, the direction precisely being the ocean.

Inside the tent suddenly only Fisher and Eimhart who had fallen back onto his shoulder were left. At this moment Eimhart was revealing dead fish eyes, turning his head again looking at Fisher complaining,

"Say are you lucky or not, they are all so good. When you look for other people, do you ever think of slapping your own mouth?"

"..."

Fisher cast a glance at Eimhart, yet his body walked back into the tent. In his heart of course there was still some lingering anxiety.

The World-Ending Prophecy was imminent. Chaos was glaring like a tiger, wanting to destroy this world. He gave up on Helaire's plan, choosing to save Raphaela and commence the World-Ending Prophecy. That meant he stepped onto the path of collecting the Completion Manuals to control Chaos.

The journey being arduous wasn't all, his own child also fell into this plight, making him feel even more that it was difficult upon difficult.

In silent contemplation, he couldn't help turning his head to look at Eimhart, asking,

"Do you have any related clues, records or ancient tomes of Mythical Ranks giving birth to offspring?"

"Where would there be this kind of thing?" Eimhart sighed, muttering, "The orthodox Mythical Species only have three types: Angels, Demons, and Elves. They all don't need to reproduce. So only those who enter the Mythical Rank post-natally will encounter a problem like yours. But those Mythical Species were too busy hiding to save their lives, how would they still use ancient tomes to record it down? The examples of Moon Princess and Xuan Can are probably the rare few cases within these ten thousand years, one failure one success..."

Doesn't this still mean there is only Xuan Can and Gou Wen this one path?

But having spoken up to this point, Eimhart's expression became exceptionally conflicted and awkward again.

Sensing something, Fisher turned his head looking at his awkward appearance, thus frowning and asking,

"What, are there other clues?"

Eimhart pouted, using dead fish eyes to look at the Fisher before his eyes. Only after several seconds did he say, giving up on himself,

"If you really have to say, there might be one other person who has related clues. Moreover if you ask, she is highly likely to tell you the answer. But from my personal perspective, I strongly advise unless you are forced to a total dead end, otherwise don't consider this method..."

"Who are you talking about?"

"... Who else could it be?" Eimhart used an extremely uncomfortable tone looking at the Fisher before his eyes, continuing to say, "Who else do you think can simultaneously satisfy the following conditions: Lived long enough, knowledge profoundly vast enough, related to the Xuan Can and Gou Wen couple you want to get the answer from, moreover, her relationship with you is still... pretty good?"

Lived long enough: Above ten thousand years

Knowledge profoundly vast enough: The world sings praises of her name, taking wisdom as name, taking thirst for knowledge as the label of the First Pillar.

Related to Xuan Can and Gou Wen: Ten thousand years ago, Gou Wen had also executed missions together with her and Fisher, their friendship was considered pretty good.

Relationship very good: The only female calling Fisher "honey".

Reviewing the above four conditions, do you suddenly find the answer has been narrowed down?

Fisher fell silent for a moment. Looking at the Eimhart before his eyes who looked like he had eaten ten thousand flies, he opened his mouth simultaneously with him,

"Helaire..."

"Right, it's that deserving a thousand cuts Baimon..."

Eimhart sighed, speaking extremely unwillingly,

"But I strongly advise you not to do this. After all look, she just previously used a plan to harm Raphaela. Although she said it was to save you, but who knows? What if when she spared Raphaela's life she had already considered this layer right now, then what to do? What if she is precisely waiting for you to ask, and then give you a direction. No matter whether this direction is right or wrong, she laid a conspiracy on your path of advancement, making you wordlessly achieve her goal?"

Fisher indeed also considered this layer, he could even be certain that if he went to ask Helaire he could definitely get a corresponding answer.

But what if it really was exactly as Eimhart said, this was really a plan Helaire had considered many layers of, then choosing to believe the proposed plan she provided was probably worse than doing nothing at all.

So after a moment of silence, only then did he say,

"... You're right."

"Yi, you became smart Fisher!"

"..."

Generally speaking, a bad man's guarantees and oaths are like dogs barking, no need to understand them and no need to believe them either. But Raphaela actually seemed willing to believe, willing to believe Fisher wouldn't betray her trust once again.

Subsequently, she nodded her head, and also said another sentence,

"Then, I can only accept Jasmine."

Fisher blinked his eyes, yet heard her continue to say,

"... I know you have other females you know, whatever Elizabeth, whatever Renee. No matter how incredibly resourceful they are, how much better than me they are, I don't care and don't want to see them either. I can only accept your and Jasmine's matter. The rest, I will pretend to know nothing at all, pretend they are strangers who will never interact with each other till death. I also hope you don't force me to accept them. I need to give my mother and the Dragon Court an explanation, even if it's just deceiving myself... Can you agree, Fisher?"

This also meant, from now on to Raphaela, Elizabeth was just Elizabeth, the Empress of Naris, not Fisher's first love; Renee was just Renee, an unknown Witch, not the intimate friend who placed her clothes in Fisher's carriage...

Raphaela couldn't force him to let go, yet also couldn't force herself to accept. It was only regarding Jasmine, this sister who after all had stayed together day and night for so long. Perhaps she had already made a bit of mental preparation when letting Jasmine and Fisher head to the Demon Dynasty together and entrusting her with her final wishes.

Eimhart listened to the point of wishing he could use his head to ram against the carriage cabin. A sense of regret of 'how could you let him off so easily' surged into his heart.

"... Okay, I promise. Those were mistakes I committed, unrelated to you and the child. I also won't let them affect you guys..."

The Fisher holding the reins made a guarantee like this. And after listening to his two earnest guarantees, only then did Raphaela reach out her claws again, gently rubbing his head, puffing her cheeks and saying,

"It's just a pity this world cannot completely operate according to what we think... If humans and demi-humans had always been equal, without ranks and disputes, and I happened to be the first female you met, this way perhaps I could openly and aboveboard let you be together with me, and only be together with me."

Eimhart might doubt, with Fisher's nature would he really be like this?

Perhaps he would be, because back then there really was such a person wanting to walk towards such an ending with him. It was merely fate driving them to separate. That female's name was Elizabeth.

Two people with such tacit understanding separating and going their separate ways from then on, one becoming increasingly extreme, one becoming increasingly greedy.

Of course Fisher could argue, "This is of course because of the Demi-Human Completion Handbook, don't blame me," but Elizabeth could also say, "This is of course because of my father who caused my eye to go blind, of course because of that terrifying Pandora's Prosthetic Eye, don't blame me."

So, whether blaming themselves or external objects, then just keep blaming like this.

At least Fisher thought like this, and also said it like this,

"Sorry, Raphaela."

Raphaela didn't respond, merely seemingly like Eliog letting out a yawn. But unlike Eliog's carefree and casual appearance of opening a "bloody gaping mouth", Raphaela would cover her mouth to conceal her shyness,

"So sleepy..."

"Sleep for a while. I precisely took into consideration that you might be tired, so I took the carriage."

"You're truly considerate, Fisher."

Raphaela turned sideways and laid on the soft chair inside the cabin, while Fisher let out a bitter smile, subsequently turning his head to continue driving the carriage.

The carriage travelled on the bare rocks for a long time again. Even Eimhart became sleepy, flying down from the carriage roof to lie on Fisher's thigh and rest. Behind them, Raphaela's dream-talk-like mumbling voice transmitted again,

"I seemingly had a dream just now, Fisher."

"What dream?"

Fisher was patient as always, not even distinguishing whether Raphaela was truly awake at this moment, because her voice was truly a bit muffled and unclear,

"I dreamt that, when in Pherone City, I originally should have died. This is my fate, destined since my birth... But... but I met you before that, and then you loved me very much, so... saved me. But what you didn't know was, the fate that originally should have belonged to me to bear, all ran onto your body...

"Then... because of this you were very painful very painful... clearly you should have done nothing, clearly you could have honestly stayed in Naris being a very powerful human, yet because of me you were forced to fight with enemies that didn't belong to you, and endure torture that didn't belong to you...

"I dreamt that, you hurt to the point of calling out to your mom, dreamt of your body being corroded by Black Mud, your very very handsome face and body all became things I couldn't recognize... not even able to open your mouth to call me for help... wuwu..."

Speaking up to here, Raphaela's mumbling voice even carried a bit of crying tone, as if in that dream her powerlessness made her feel sad,

"Seeing you like this I was truly very sad... so, I was thinking would it have been, if I died in Pherone City back then, would it have been a bit better? This way you wouldn't... wouldn't be so uncomfortable and painful... I'm very sorry to you, because I'm like this..."

"Shh, go to sleep, Raphaela."

Yet her words were suddenly interrupted by Fisher speaking. He held the reins, while his other hand reached out and pressed down on the ignorant Eimhart who was getting up on his thigh, continuing to say,

"That was just a dream, actually nothing happened."

"... Really?"

"Really?"

Her tone carried a bit of hope, and Fisher's tone was also very certain,

"Really."

"... That way... that's good..."

Inside the cabin, Raphaela's crying voice didn't transmit again, that voice full of guilt Fisher also didn't want to hear anymore.

Actually Fisher still remembered the pain he endured when fusing the Soul Completion Handbook's Chaos at that time. That bone-piercing feeling that tortured him to the point of even being able to eliminate dignity and consciousness, he wouldn't be able to forget for his entire life.

Objectively speaking, perhaps Fisher walking to this day was truly related to saving World-Enders like Raphaela back then, so Raphaela who knew this point felt she owed Fisher.

Perhaps, this time choosing to accept after knowing Jasmine's matter also had reasons in this aspect?

But Fisher consistently never felt he endured all this because of Raphaela, and also wouldn't demand anything from her because of this. He even still felt that making Raphaela be forced to not haggle over the matter of Jasmine and other females was his own fault, going so far as to feel somewhat blaming himself over temporarily having no way to resolve the method of the stillbirth about to be born in her womb...

Why was this again?

"Clop clop clop..."

Time trickled by again, the crimson sunlight piercing through the horizon also gradually slanting west. The sound of horse hooves beneath them echoed intermittently amidst the Southern Branch Mountain Range. Very quickly, beyond the mountains perfectly flattened by the Mythical Species' great battle ahead, from far away, a sea surface reflecting the sparkling color of the setting sun appeared before Fisher who was driving the carriage.

At the very end of that horizon, a massive steam ship emitting a wisp of crooked black smoke was approaching the southernmost tip of the Southern Continent. Above it hung a sail flag with a symbol of the Naris Bécquer surname. Beneath that symbol, was a line of Naris Language and a line of Northern Border Language, with the same meaning, reading:

"Wutong Merchant Guild"

But Fisher actually didn't notice that massive steam ship about to arrive here. He merely continued driving the carriage carrying his lover inside the cabin heading towards the Dragon Court.

At this moment, besides the horse hooves and the faint breeze there was nothing else keeping him company.

The horse hooves were busy hurrying on the journey and didn't have time to think, but the faint breeze that had always been spectating actually understood the reasons for all this at a glance, wanting to open its mouth to awaken the principles within. Merely besides Demon God Barbatos no one else could understand the sound of the wind...

They were saying: "Love is Always Feeling a Debt."

Even though he released Fisher's hand, Keken's expression was still hard to conceal his excitement. Only at this moment looking around this ship still staying on the sea surface, he couldn't help but be curious how Fisher got on the ship.

One must know because of the massive battle that happened here previously, the Dragon Court's port had already been completely destroyed. When he sent people to notify the Prayer and Blessing Tower they could only rely on crew members rowing a small boat over, yet Fisher unexpectedly got on the ship without anybody noticing like this.

He always felt the current Mr. Fisher Benavides was somewhat different from the past.

He didn't directly press for an answer, instead reaching out to lead the way, preparing to take Fisher to a place more suitable for conversation to talk,

"Mr. Fisher, it's inconvenient to talk here, please come this way. I'll have my wife prepare some delicious food, ah, of course also fine wine. You should have rarely tasted the most authentic Naris fine wine these passing years, right?"

"Indeed it is so."

Keken very happily led Fisher walking into the cabin. Along the way he also ordered the crew members to have those who went out hurry back. And Eimhart staying in Fisher's embrace secretly sizing up the outside took in all the various items inside the cabin into his eyes.

Everything entering his eyes was luxurious local specialties from various countries, such as jewelry from Schwari, ancient relics from Kadu, armor from the Sardin Woman's Country, etc. It looked like it should be related to his gains these years. And in the corner of his eye, Eimhart even saw a Wutong Tree statue presented in the corridor of the cabin.

He nudged Fisher's chest as a reminder, and very quickly, they arrived inside a room at the end of the cabin. Looking at the layout inside, it should be used as a reception lounge.

"Lana, help me prepare some food, incidentally help me fetch that bottle of wine I kept in the bedroom, alright?"

Keken raised his head to call out. Fisher also looked over at the same time, then abruptly saw a lady wearing Northern Territory attire currently leaning on the railing without expression sizing up below.

She had a head of wine-red short hair without much expression. Even after hearing Keken's words she only slightly nodded her head, then turned around to return to the room to make preparations.

"Please sit down quickly, Mr. Fisher. We haven't seen each other for five years already right, especially after that matter with Empress Elizabeth..."

"Ah, yes. These years I've never known the news in Naris, and also don't know how it compares to the past."

After Fisher sat down, Keken turned his head to fetch goblets for enjoying fine wine. While picking suitable wine glasses, he spoke smilingly,

"Honestly speaking, it's much better than before. Empress Elizabeth is a good Empress. Although the political and business circles have quite a few criticisms of her, that's only aimed at her and the Golden Palace's coercive intervention in the market. Anyone with a discerning eye can tell, Naris's strength and the people's lives have risen to a higher level than the past..."

He took two suitable wine glasses, and also brought back two high-quality cigars, placing them before Fisher and himself before taking a seat,

"Corruption was governed. The Gryphon Party and New Party that originally excelled at infighting settled down. The Nazarene Development Company was nationalized, education was reformed, worker's rights protection bills were introduced... Iron-fist governance isn't good for Naris, but Her Majesty Elizabeth's iron fist is fine. Even our Bécquer family pioneered a new field, providing loans for enterprises producing Cardinals."

"... She is even more outstanding than Dexter."

"Otherwise how could she become the first Empress?"

Keken lit a match, wanting to light a cigar for Fisher, but was politely declined by him. Keken had no choice but to light one for himself, then extinguishing the match again,

"Let's still talk about you. Was your departure these years related to the Empress? The wanted poster for Mr. Fisher Benavides went from being issued to disappearing in merely half a year's time, just like a little girl throwing a tantrum with her lover, so unpredictable."

"No, it's unrelated to her. But I have to go back sooner or later, and the problem between her and me was also never a problem of whether to issue a wanted poster or not."

"Yes, anyone with a discerning eye can tell this matter..." Keken exhaled a puff of smoke, saying smilingly, "The ministers urging the Empress to quickly choose a Prince Consort, those remonstrances flew towards the Golden Palace like snowflakes, capable of doing nothing besides making Empress Elizabeth in a bad mood. If it weren't that Schwari's Prince Lausanne was already married, and there were no other suitable princes, otherwise those marriage certificates would definitely pile up and fill the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' mailbox."

"She is..."

"In her early thirties this year, of course considered prime age. Actually really speaking, at worst Empress Elizabeth also has younger siblings, Princess Isabel wandering outside, several young princes and princesses outside the Golden Palace... But you know, the people's trust in Her Majesty Elizabeth is absolutely unprecedented. This kind of reverence rooted in visible changes gave Her Majesty unparalleled adoration, to the extent that only her own bloodline can inherit this trust."

Elizabeth had passed four and a half years of time, but to Fisher, the four and a half years of reality only quietly slipped away in the past few months.

"Clatter clatter clatter..."

Also right at this time, the young lady Keken ordered previously was holding a bottle of red wine with both hands, leading two maids carrying dishes and walking forward. She expressionlessly nodded at Fisher as a greeting, then independently opened the bottle and decanted the wine.

Keken smiled helplessly, having no choice but to reach out and introduce himself,

"Mr. Fisher, please allow me to introduce to you, this is Adina, she is my wife. She comes from the Northern Territory, somewhat uncommunicative, please forgive her."

"Oh, wife?"

"Ah, yes. But don't misunderstand, I didn't divorce my former two wives, they are still resting upstairs. We came from the Northern Territory, travel-worn, they are somewhat seasick, so..."

"..."

That is to say, this guy married a third wife again?

Fisher cast a glance at that beautiful lady currently pouring red wine. Not knowing if it was an illusion, he always felt there seemed to be a faint wisp of golden light flashing past the body of this female before his eyes. Just as he narrowed his eyes wanting to size up that golden light clearly, he abruptly discovered that the hand of Keken's wife holding the wine bottle was little by little becoming "soft".

Becoming that kind of, green softness?

No, this was a...

"Slime?"

"!!"

The moment Fisher opened his mouth in doubt, he felt Adina's figure trembling slightly. Although her face was still expressionless, her fingers and arms had already begun transforming towards dark green.

Keken also raised his eyebrows looking at Adina, then standing up smilingly to catch the wine bottle she held, looking embarrassed at Fisher and saying,

"Ah, I almost forgot, Mr. Fisher is a famous demi-human scholar. That's right, Adina is a slime I met in the Northern Territory. But as a slime, she's a bit too young and tender, and very shy. Every time she gets shy she can't even maintain her disguised appearance, truly sorry about this."

While explaining for Fisher, he gently pulled Adina into his embrace. Although this slime remained expressionless, she seemingly finally relaxed, gently wrapping her soft tentacles around Keken's waist, burying her face into his shoulder, looking exceptionally clingy.

"Then you go back first, I still have a bit of matters to chat with Mr. Fisher..."

"..."

Adina remained motionless, only her body becoming increasingly soft and hugging him increasingly tightly. It looked like she was instinctively frightened by being stared at by Fisher, who was at the Mythical Rank, just now.

Rather, Fisher was somewhat surprised. He cast a glance at the room above, asking,

"You just said your two wives are both upstairs. They are sisters not minding each other, I can understand. But could it be they also don't mind this... Adina?"

"Ah, although at the very beginning there were indeed some troubles, it's much better now. They get along very well now, and also like Adina's character very much. It's very harmonious now, and every night they even can together..."

"Smack!"

Before his words were finished, his mouth was already gently slapped by the soft tentacles of Adina in his embrace. Subsequently before seeing clearly, she gently jumped down, taking the disguise that was about to completely vanish and fleeing upstairs. Seemingly shamed to the extreme and unwilling to listen any further.

"..."

Fisher opened his mouth, seemingly not knowing what to say.

And Keken also smiled embarrassedly, reaching out to dismiss the maids beside who were already accustomed to strangeness, preparing to officially enjoy delicacies with Fisher,

"Please go ahead, Mr. Fisher, sorry, making you see a joke."

"... Not at all."

Accompanied by such fine wine, the atmosphere at the table also gradually warmed up. Fisher took a sip of Naris's high-quality Black Mamba Wine, his mood unavoidably also becoming happy,

"This wine I haven't tasted before."

"Of course, newly out of the factory. Naris recently had a few more newly emerging wineries, the taste is impossibly good. You taste more, I also don't have any good things here to entertain you."

Fisher tasted a few more glasses of such treasures, the topic also gradually entering the main subject. The corner of his eye glanced at the door Adina sneaked away to just now, incidentally asking,

"That Adina from earlier, is she a person of the Frostwood Sycamore Tree?"

Keken was slightly stunned, but still swallowed the remaining half glass of wine in his cup, only then shaking his head, smiling and explaining,

"No, no, or strictly speaking no. Marrying her wasn't within the scope of my cooperation with Patriarch Barion."

"So, you are helping them run errands?"

"Can't hide it from you. Indeed it is so." Keken's face reddened slightly, explaining, "The Wutong Merchant Guild was founded by me borrowing their resources. The channels and resources of that group of slimes were both unimaginable to me, cooperating with them is very pleasant, at least more pleasant than at home. These years I've also earned a lot using the identity of the Wutong Merchant Guild's proxy. My footprints are everywhere, my reputation and strength have even made my elders look at me with new eyes..."

"Is there any corresponding price?"

"Price? Mm, this depends on how to understand it... to a merchant there's no price, only cost. My cost is a suitable proxy identity and a useful brain, this is exactly what they need. But occasionally there is also need to do some errand-running jobs for people, just like this time."

Keken added wine for himself and Fisher again. Subsequently he sat up a bit straighter, rubbed the glass wall, looking at Fisher and saying,

"I've heard of your deeds in the Northern Territory from the slimes. The husband of the Phoenix, the excavator of the Sycamore tree, the eradicator of the curse, the gravedigger of the Turan family... Sure enough, gold will shine no matter where it goes. It's just your mysterious disappearance four and a half years ago still made Patriarch Barion quite mindful. These years, especially recently, they have always been searching for your whereabouts... The Phoenix, has already awakened, Mr. Fisher."

Valentiina sure enough had already awakened.

Fisher was slightly startled, subsequently similarly looking at the crimson wine liquid inside the glass wall. But before he had time to reply, the slightly red-faced Keken before his eyes already opened his mouth once again,

"Really envy you ah, having such a legendary story. Empress Elizabeth, the legendary Phoenix, and even the Dragon Court's Dragon Queen are all connected to you. But I have no affinity with the word 'big shot'. But maybe my father was right in the past, when a person gets to a certain time maybe their pursuits will change... For example right now, I feel it's pretty good."

"..."

Right while Keken was feeling emotional, conversation sounds transmitted from upstairs again. They were female voices,

"What's wrong, Adina, did something happen below? Hubby, are you below?"

"I'm here, Dora. Mr. Fisher is also here... exactly that Mr. Fisher Benavides we met once in the past..."

"Did you drink again? Aren't you bad at holding your liquor? And also, what's going on outside, why is the sky so red?"

"I also don't know..."

Fisher raised his eyes gazing over, then saw Keken's three wives. That one named "Dora" was currently supporting Adina who just ran away from shyness. They looked quite harmonious, putting on an appearance of being worried about her.

Although it looked quite good, Fisher actually couldn't imagine a scene of those females he knew staying together so harmoniously.

Elizabeth smilingly supporting Raphaela, Valentiina and Jasmine conversing happily, Helaire smilingly looking at Renee, Alajina and Eliog staying together amiably, watching Asuka Karasawa's magic teaching beside them?

No, maybe the next second a world-destroying war like the second Mythical War was going to break out in the room, many people would die...

Cold sweat broke out straight from Fisher's forehead, not even daring to think about it. He had no choice but to hurriedly massage his own temples, reaching out to shut Keken up, asking,

"So, your coming this time was to inquire about my news for the Northern Territory, right?"

"Ah, there's consideration in this aspect, but it's not the main reason. After all you completely lost your traces previously, whether it was me or the slimes neither could guarantee finding you. So essentially coming this time is still to do a little trade with the Dragon Court."

"Then the news relating to me you mentioned earlier, what is it? Are you going to tell the Dragon Queen about the relationship between the Phoenix and me?"

"I wouldn't dare. Even the slimes wouldn't dare tell the Phoenix these things..." Keken helplessly waved his hand. He seemingly had an inkling of the terrifying scene of fierce conflict Fisher faced. At the same time, he also reached out fetching a newspaper from the side, handing it to Fisher, "The matter I originally wanted to say is another thing. Perfectly you are also here. This matter should not be that important to the Dragon Queen, but to you..."

Fisher was slightly stunned, receiving that newspaper. This seemed to be last week's Naris Daily, and the first thing entering his eyes was a massive headline,

"Heavily Mourning the Grand Mage of the Century, Mr. Haelsem Lacazette"

Fisher's pupils slightly contracted, hurriedly sitting up straight to unfold the newspaper, word by word reading the text below,

"In the early morning of July 19th, Year 5 of Elizabeth I, the distinguished magician specially employed by the Royal Academy of Naris, President of the Nari Magic Society, member of the World Magic Association, Grand Mage of the Century, former Dean of the Magic Academy at the Naris Royal Academy, and the retired legendary mage, Mr. Haelsem Lacazette, passed away due to a heart attack in his manor outside the city limits of Chitel in northern Naris, at the age of 104.

"Looking back at Mr. Haelsem's life, it was the most glorious and legendary life. From his nineteenth year..."

Fisher unbelievably read the entire report word by word until it was complete, until the last few lines of text,

"The Nari Magic Society lowered its flags to half-mast. The World Magic Association has decided to designate July 19th of each year as 'Magic Revitalization Day', and established the 'Haelsem Award Fund' to commemorate the contributions and achievements of this century magic giant during his lifetime. And as an alumna of the Royal Academy and student of Mr. Lacazette, Empress Elizabeth expressed deep condolences upon learning the news on the morning of July 19th, and stated she will personally attend Mr. Lacazette's funeral on August 1st..."

Fisher pinched the newspaper tight little by little, until after taking the final line of text into his eyes yet remained unable to put the newspaper down, only able to constantly stare at that black and white photo of Teacher Helson on the newspaper.

Keken coughed gently, sighing and saying,

"I'm truly sorry, Mr. Fisher, this is already a matter of last week, this matter has already spread throughout the entire West Continent... I clearly know, as the only closed-door disciple of Magician Helson, your feelings with him are not what ordinary teacher and student can compare to."

Fisher's expression was grave. Only after several seconds did he barely manage to place the newspaper in his hand back onto the tabletop again.

He took a deep breath, raising his eyes to glance at the calendar Keken placed on the cabinet at the side. Today happened to be July 26th, there was exactly five days until August 1st.

After being silent for a moment, he turned his head looking at Keken, abruptly opening his mouth and saying,

"... I will return to Naris, to attend Teacher Helson's funeral."

"Mm, I anticipated this point when I saw you..." Keken smiled somewhat, continuing to add, "The world knows of Mr. Fisher Benavides's conflict with the Royal Academy, and also knows of your teacher-student friendship with Grand Mage Lacazette. I mean, Empress Elizabeth naturally also knows."

"I know. Having disappeared for four and a half years without making an appearance, and yet not going to Naris to find her after appearing, she definitely blames me..."

Fisher smiled regrettably, looking at Keken and saying,

"But regardless of the situation, I am Teacher Helson's disciple. I must return and personally attend his funeral."

"... I'm afraid it's not simply just that, Mr. Fisher."

Keken's ten fingers touched. After hesitating for a moment, he pointed in the northern direction,

"A few days ago, about several months ago, one of the four famous great pirates on the sea, the Iceberg Queen, was plotted against by the Black Chieftain, leading to the sinking of her ship. After that, she and her crew were forced to leave the sea surface and enter the Northern Territory, seeking the help of the Frostwood Sycamore Tree. Princess Isabel was also among them. After Empress Elizabeth learned of this matter she dispatched an envoy heading to the Northern Territory to bring Princess Isabel back. As for the result..."

The Black Chieftain, is that great pirate who cooperated with Alajina?

Speaking of which he previously did invite Alajina to go find the Stormsea together. Now Naris even had a factory producing Cardinals in the Sanctuary. Factoring in the matter of the Black Chieftain betraying Alajina again, his connection with Naris becomes obvious at a glance.

Listening to Keken's words, Fisher first furrowed his brows.

In his heart, he was naturally worried about Alajina's situation. He knew that ship was the only shelter for Alajina and her crew. To now fall to a state where the ship was destroyed and the people were exiled, this made him have no choice but to worry for it.

Only after hearing that she went to the Frostwood Sycamore Tree did Fisher finally ease his mind a bit. Following that was the inevitably surging guilty conscience of Valentiina and Alajina meeting.

"... Alajina definitely refused."

"Indeed it is so. I almost forgot your relationship with the Iceberg Queen is also extraordinary. But it doesn't stop here, Her Majesty Elizabeth naturally understands Princess Isabel wouldn't return this easily. After all anyone with a discerning eye can tell the one who doesn't want to return to Naris is Princess Isabel herself. So, the meaning conveyed by the envoy was more of a threat than a negotiation."

"... Something's wrong."

"You also noticed it?"

Keken smiled faintly, watching Fisher pondering and knocking on the table before analyzing,

"If Valentiina really came into the world, for an existence like the Phoenix sweeping the entire Northern Territory's faith, it would definitely cause panic among the nations in the Northern Territory. At the very least her name would definitely be widely circulated, it's impossible for Elizabeth far away in Naris to not know. Even if Elizabeth's knowledge of the legendary Phoenix's strength and abilities is not detailed, it's impossible to recklessly threaten the Sycamore Tree... Unless, she is confident that the Sycamore Tree is absolutely not Naris's opponent."

"Yes, this is also the reason that gave Patriarch Barion some misgivings. Naris looks like a rising star of the West Continent on the surface, but very few people can see through the driving force hidden within, and it's also very difficult to guess exactly what trump cards exist in Empress Elizabeth's palm. Just need to remind you, that Phoenix adult who just awakened is also not someone to be trifled with. It's said, in her reply letter to Her Majesty Elizabeth she possibly, probably, maybe mentioned a little bit of your matters."

"..."

Fisher was stunned, even the movement of his fingers knocking the table came to an abrupt end,

"Mentioned me? And Elizabeth?"

"Ah, should be, anyway that's what Patriarch Barion said. But that Phoenix wouldn't be too excessive right... probably."

"..."

Why does it feel like this trip to Naris suddenly became dangerous all at once.

He suddenly fell silent, rubbing his own temples, appearing to have somewhat of a headache.

It wasn't fearing Elizabeth, because as early as before he left reality to transmigrate back into the past, he had already decided to resolve the matters between him and her.

It's just there were only five days until Helson's funeral, and Elizabeth would also personally attend the funeral. Using toes to think one would know she would make some arrangements targeting Fisher there. Fisher just didn't want to turn the teacher's funeral into a place for the two of them to resolve their past grievances.

At least have to wait until the funeral passes.

"You are working for that group of slimes. Given their infiltration of the society outside the Northern Territory, could it be they are also completely ignorant regarding Naris, regarding Elizabeth's secrets?"

"Regrettably, they don't have any. During the passing years, whether in the Southern Continent or the West Continent, the slimes lying dormant within would all be quietly executed. It can be said my corresponding understanding of Naris is also limited to the ordinary populace. I can only feel the overall flourishing, yet don't know where the confidence supporting Her Majesty Elizabeth comes from."

Keken spread his hands and shook his head saying like so. But immediately after he rather suddenly thought of something, supplementing to Fisher,

"However, I do know a little secret of this 'Human Allied Army' in the Southern Continent. The entire army here is actually completely hired, it's not Naris's native army, the source is small countries on the east coast of the West Continent with severe population loss. But it can be seen, originally Empress Elizabeth didn't place high hopes on this army, otherwise she wouldn't have been so casual even with General Barbatos's appointment, that is completely a person whose background and roots are unknown. It's very difficult to say what Her Majesty Elizabeth's true intentions are, but it's best to be a bit more cautious."

East coast of the West Continent?

So the appointment of Barbatos to the human allied army was like this.

Fisher pondered for a moment. If Elizabeth wasn't clear about Barbatos and Agreas's demonic background, then exactly for what purpose did she dispatch this troop supporting the puppet regime? The troop personnel even originated from such sensitive war-torn regions...

"Mm, thanks for the reminder, but I've already decided to return to Naris."

"Alright. If Mr. Fisher decides so, perfectly I can also let the slimes know of this matter. With the help of their teleportation ability, you also won't have to rush violently over the sea... come come come, Mr. Fisher eat a bit more. I still don't know why you would be here and what exactly happened here previously. I still thought it would be very difficult for the Dragon Court to withstand the southward advance of the Human Allied Army this time. However although it looks like there are some losses, at least the result is good..."

Keken raised his wine glass again filling red wine for Fisher. At this moment, a bottle of treasured high-quality Naris fine wine had just hit bottom. He then wanted to call his wives to fetch wine for him again, using wine to liven things up and chat freely about the various things that happened in the past.

Fisher saw his drunkenness but didn't persuade against it. When in the Southern Continent and West Continent Keken had once done his utmost to help him, this old senior. And honestly speaking, at least regarding coordinating the relationship between wives, Fisher still admired him quite a bit.

Otherwise Fisher's imagination wouldn't be so barren. Once thinking of the scene where that group of females connected to him stayed together he felt his back run cold.

Since an unknown amount of time ago, Fisher's inner heart had been gradually encircled by many matters, urging him to constantly think. And watching Keken raising the fine wine before his eyes, Fisher also temporarily relaxed after a long time, throwing the various problems lingering in his brain to the back of his mind.

He merely raised the wine glass in his hand, slightly clinking with Keken's, making the fine brew inside the glass ripple.

"Alright alright, you really drank too much, it's time to stop for a bit."

The conversation just continued like this until evening. During this period Fisher and Keken chatted quite a bit. Naturally there were topics from both sides, but Keken spoke more, while Fisher spoke less.

From his mouth, Fisher understood the current situation in Naris. Of course there was no lack of the process of his acquaintance with the slimes. His reason for cooperating with the slimes was still for his dream of establishing himself independently unwilling to rely on his family. Looking from the current situation, at least in Fisher's eyes he was more outstanding than many young people of the Bécquer family.

And after he got drunk, his three wives also walked down quite worriedly, stopping his action of wanting to open another bottle of wine.

Seeing he was terribly drunk Fisher also used an excuse to take his leave. Madam Dora still thought of wanting to see Fisher off for a part of the journey, but where did Fisher still need it. He just alone went onto the deck preparing to leave.

The Madam Dora behind him politely wanted to come out to see him off, but the result was in just the blink of an eye, after Fisher left a sentence "will come find Keken again later", he then disappeared without a trace, making her rendered dumbfounded.

Not long after Fisher then god-unknowingly arriving inside the Prayer and Blessing Tower, without anyone beside noticing.

He didn't have any degree of drunkenness at all, incidentally letting out Eimhart who stayed in his embrace for an entire afternoon,

"Aiyo, suffocating me to death... that friend of yours is really loving to drink yet unable to drink. Clearly he was almost going to drink to the point of throwing up yet still wanted to drink. But originally I thought you were outrageous enough, I didn't expect him to be so exaggerated too, unexpectedly even able to lay hands on a slime. Are your Royal Academy students succeeding from the same line, all this bizarre?"

Although the Royal Academy's reputation was indeed very bad originally, seeking truth from facts, this aspect had completely no relationship with the Royal Academy.

"I also didn't expect he would marry a slime, especially a pure Naris person like him."

"Oh, a pure Naris gentleman, heh..." Eimhart stood on his shoulder, shaking his head sighing, "In this aspect you are completely inferior to him. You look at his three wives how harmonious they are, you look at you again. Oh my god, I even feel terrified just helping you remember those names. How do you casually mediate among them as if nothing happened?"

"Bold yet cautious."

"... Truly shameless."

"Massage in Raphaela's room?"

Jasmine blankly chewed on these words Fisher said, having not yet reacted to what he meant, even foolishly thinking if she and Teacher Fisher were here then where should Raphaela go?

Couldn't just let Raphaela go out right?

But a mere second later, she seemingly realized something after the fact. Her fair, somewhat baby-fat face was instantly occupied by a smear of cherry blossom color rising from her neck.

Her gaze dodged, her ears also flicked. It was obviously her heartbeat accelerating and her head heating up, subconsciously and imperceptibly muttering a sentence,

"Teacher Fisher, ec..."

The smile of Raphaela beside her also stiffened all at once, her dragon claws clenching bit by bit. Not knowing if it was those words about "can only accept Jasmine" she said to him in the morning that made Fisher push his luck, to actually raise such a request.

But turning her head to look at Jasmine beside her, she actually discovered she didn't have any other reactions besides being bashful. The movements of this body seemingly just said "actually it's not impossible either", angering Raphaela to the point her teeth itched.

Seeing this, she gently reached out knocking Jasmine's head, knocking her dizzy head back to the high ground of rationality. At the same time, she turned her face sideways speaking to Fisher,

"You wish, letting Jasmine massage for you, and even in my room. My mother is still resting next door... After finishing your bath tonight obediently go back to sleep. If you really want a massage to relax, I'll have the Dragon Court's soldiers come over to help you."

Obviously, there was still a very long distance to the harmony between Keken's several wives.

However Fisher himself didn't hold too much hope, and of course it wasn't a matter of disappointment. Now that the two of them being together didn't fight was already considered not bad.

Him saying this just now was just somewhat feeling in a difficult position. Facing Jasmine's so obvious invitation, and Raphaela "glaring like a tiger" beside him, no matter how he answered he wouldn't be able to satisfy the other person, so he simply straightforwardly "I want it all" to avoid this choice.

So you see, just now upon hearing this question Eimhart had already with foresight abandoned Fisher and left.

"Alright, then I'll go take a bath first, and wait until tomorrow morning to check on Aunt Yali'er's condition."

Only then did Raphaela nod her head. She touched her own lower abdomen picking up a key on the tabletop. While pointing a direction outside the door for Fisher she softly said,

"Inside the Royal Court there is a hot spring exclusively for my use. Go out this corridor, turn left and it's at the end. This is the key."

"Alright, then I'm going."

Fisher nodded turning around to leave. Behind him Jasmine who still wanted to say something reached out her hand, but it melted under Raphaela's formless gaze beside her.

Raphaela sighed. The Jasmine before her eyes was just like a child unrestrained after tasting the forbidden fruit for the first time, having tasted the sweetness couldn't help but ask for more. She could only softly say,

"Jasmine, my mother is still resting. Go back and rest first tonight."

Jasmine and Raphaela's rooms actually weren't too far apart, and happened perfectly so, the room Yali'er rested in was in the middle of equal distance between the two rooms. This reason could be said to be flawless, also equivalent to saying "nobody eats tonight" like this.

Although this morning Raphaela in the end still drew a bottom line for Fisher after thinking again and again, she knew what Fisher had done for her and for the Dragon Court and what he had borne, so she made such a concession. But after all for a Dragon-kin this was a special circumstance, she still needed to do a bit of mental preparation to get over this hurdle...

Perhaps, what she actually needed was an opportunity to personally chat with Jasmine, but not right now tonight.

However it looked like this little fool Whale-kin didn't have complicated feelings in this aspect in the slightest, or perhaps she had but didn't show it on her face.

Jasmine embarrassedly retracted her hand, seemingly also feeling she was too obvious, so similarly laughed awkwardly, nodding to agree,

"That's... that's also true. Although Aunt Yali'er doesn't have any major issues, it's best to be a bit quieter... Then, I'll go back to rest. You also rest early, Raphaela."

"Alright, good night, Jasmine."

As Jasmine turned around and left Raphaela's room, Raphaela also touched her lower abdomen and sat back down, seemingly preparing to read a few more documents before resting.

But right now it was still July not yet entering autumn. The evening breeze blowing in from outside slapping on her back was still that scorching hot, making her restlessly sway the tail behind her.

"Rustle..."

The Dragon Court characters on the documents seemed to be burning, making it difficult for Raphaela to discern. No matter what she couldn't take them into her eyes, conversely making her somewhat lonely pout

Outside the Dragon Court, the sound of ocean waves slapping the coast seemingly resembled the gurgling flowing water of a hot spring, further making Raphaela think of Fisher currently bathing in the hot spring.

She couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva. Her spirit that was previously sluggish due to reading documents was instead excited at this moment, putting on an appearance of a "greedy evil dragon".

Clearly already having a baby, why still...

Raphaela's face reddened slightly, then somewhat irritably rubbed her own temples, subsequently leaning her body against the soft chair behind her.

After hesitating for a moment, she still reached out her hand and opened the drawer under the table. Inside lay a key exactly identical to the one Fisher took away just now.

Although doing this was a bit immoral, because she just advised Jasmine to go back and rest...

Raphaela's face was slightly red, the tail behind her swaying and swaying, finally still quietly standing up and walking to the door. After pushing open the door, this moment the Royal Court at night appeared exceptionally quiet, the guards all reassigned outside to coordinate various works of the Prayer and Blessing Tower.

While mother's room and Jasmine's room were both tightly shut, looking like they had already rested...

Raphaela let out a breath of relief while walking outside the door, looking around continuously and quietly closing the door behind her, subsequently pinching the other key leading to the hot spring heading towards the depths of the Royal Court far away from this place.

The Sunset Valley region in the southern part of the Southern Continent had many natural hot springs. The underground caves where the Bat-kin who originally lived here resided for generations even had a large number of hot springs visible everywhere.

After the New Dragon Court established by Raphaela took this as a base, the residents here also started enjoying these hot springs visible everywhere, as one of the few welfare benefits provided to the residents under the wartime system.

The hot spring within the Royal Court couldn't be considered the largest nor the best, but for the exclusive hot spring inside the Royal Court it was obviously enough.

When Fisher walked to a small hill deep within the Royal Court according to the direction pointed out by Raphaela and then used the key to open the sealed door, what first emerged from within was wisps of steam. From the steam revealed a sealed, smoke-wreathed massive hot spring cluster.

These pools were layered one upon another, among them perhaps partitioned by some wooden planks and wooden frames. And because it was sealed, the evaporated steam was just like smoke wreathing around. While obscuring the line of sight, it further made this place seem like a fairyland on earth.

Fisher wiped the water vapor on the skin of his face, his muscles also couldn't help but relax. He casually walked amid the smoke, very quickly stepping onto the small paths amidst many hot spring pools. After advancing for a few minutes he casually found a neither big nor small pool as the bathing spot.

When unbuttoning his white robe revealing his sturdy upper body he again felt it was somewhat a pity Eimhart didn't come. But probably even if he came he wouldn't be able to enjoy it, that guy was relatively afraid of water, not to mention this kind of hot water.

Thinking of these nonsenses, Fisher also stripped completely naked, enjoying the wonderfulness of the hot spring.

In the West Continent there were rarely such places for enjoyment. Seemingly there were some within Schwari's borders, but they were mostly private treasured lands of local royalty and aristocracy, the local commoners had no opportunity to enjoy them. Of course a foreigner like him had even less opportunity.

He leaned against the bank, closing his eyes to rest his mind, occasionally reaching out to playfully slap his body with hot water.

"Creak..."

Not a while later, Fisher's ears twitched slightly, keenly hearing the sound of unlocking transmitting from within the mist as well as the sound of the door slowly opening.

Someone else came.

Fisher opened his eyes, turning his head looking towards this hazy water mist. Very quickly he saw a blurry graceful figure. He could see the action of that figure taking off her clothes within the mist. She looked around, finally unable to bear it softly opening her mouth calling out a sentence,

"Fisher?"

"..."

It was Raphaela.

"I'm here."

Fisher sat up, watching her slowly walking over after discovering his position. When coming, the clothes on her body seemed to have already been placed in some other place by her, while she herself was draped in a gray bath towel, her face slightly red looking at Fisher in the pool.

Under the dual concealment of the bath towel and the mist, he could only see clearly the faintly swaying dragon tail behind her and the crimson scales on her fair skin. The entire bath towel was grabbed by her dragon claws breaking free from gravity, yet looking exceptionally loose.

Her face was slightly red. She first cast a glance at Fisher in the pool, subsequently walking over without saying a word, little by little entering the pool.

The spring water in the pool bubbled, the bath towel draped on her body also smoothly floated on the water surface, only unable to escape because she was grabbing it.

Fisher swallowed a mouthful of saliva, smilingly asking,

"I still thought tonight was off... or is it, you just came to take a bath?"

Raphaela's face reddened slightly, glaring at him reproachfully. Although the purpose of coming was already so obvious, once thinking he was actually dare to excessively say those words just now, she arrogantly hummed a sound, putting on a brave face saying,

"Of course... of course came to take a bath, nothing more."

"..."

Fisher blinked his eyes, sitting motionless in the pool watching her also sit down at the place she entered the water, comfortably letting out a breath because of the warmth of the hot spring.

Subsequently, she looked at Fisher again, then continuously watching him still sitting not far away yet just wouldn't come over, and just looked at her like that, she then raised her tail patting beside her, supervising,

"What are you doing, come over ah."

"I won't go over."

"?"

Looking at Raphaela's appearance of about to erupt, Fisher deliberately said,

"Didn't you say you just came to take a bath? You are too cute, if I go over I wouldn't be able to hold back."

Raphaela bashfully shook the tail behind her, subsequently gritting her teeth and throwing the floating bath towel over. Before it was fiercely grabbed by Fisher's raised hand, while splashing a bit of water he also listened to her continuing to say,

"Who... who said letting you come over was to do that kind of thing... I wanted you to help me wipe my scales!"

"I couldn't hold back."

"Hurry up and come over!"

Only then did Fisher stop acting up. He slowly came to Raphaela's side, watching her softly hum a sound turning her back facing Fisher, and Fisher also gently raised the bath towel, just like in the past gently wiping the scales on her body.

This was a special duty only a Tail-Compatible Partner could take on.

"Hum hum hum..."

She looked exceptionally comfortable. While letting Fisher clean her scales for her, wiping those scales tightly adhering to the skin smooth, at the same time softly humming a ballad in her throat.

Seeing her so relaxed, Fisher's mood also couldn't help but improve. He gently wrapped his arms around her back, pressing his hands against her still-flat lower abdomen. Seemingly wanting to feel the existence there, yet just touching like this, without using the power of the soul.

"... The baby will only have a shape after two months."

"Faster than humans."

"He will be a Dragon-kin, I can feel it."

"Yeah..."

The main characteristics of a mixed-blood species generally follow the mother. And strictly speaking, mixed-blood species can actually be distinguished by race, just that they will have characteristics of both races.

Taking the Sardin Woman's Country people of the Northern Territory as an example, the initial Sardin Woman's Country people were mixed-bloods of Giant Troll-kin and humans, and it must be a combination of "human mother and Giant Troll father". Only this way the child born to them would be primarily humanoid rather than a Giant Troll, and still possess the "Yin and Yang Reversal" trait.

The Sardin Woman's Country people born this way were still humans rather than Giant Trolls. Passing through a few generations of mixed-blood and combining with each other like this, the Sardin Woman's Country people in the historical sense were born.

By the same logic, so the child Raphaela gave birth to would also be a Dragon-kin possessing certain human characteristics.

"However earlier you spoke with Jasmine like that, I still thought tonight was just treating it as a ceasefire to rest, didn't expect you would still come over."

Hearing Fisher say this, the originally completely comfortable Raphaela also revealed a somewhat awkward expression, because originally she truly planned this way, but as a result in the end didn't hold back so came over to sneak a bite.

"..."

And watching her suddenly not speak, even her body somewhat stiffening up, Fisher raised his eyebrows becoming somewhat not knowing whether to laugh or cry,

"Wait, don't tell me you really..."

"You're so annoying, Fisher."

But before he finished speaking, Raphaela domineeringly turned her head over. She puffed her cheeks, unhappily using the tail behind her to gently entangle Fisher's waist, just like in the past drawing the distance between him and herself closer little by little. Subsequently she was unable to wait to reach out her hands cradling Fisher's cheeks, kissing his lips, blocking all the words he was about to say in his mouth.

"Mwah!"

The water waves in the hot spring gurgled, and Fisher also completely without resistance leaned against the stone wall behind him reaching the height of his back, wrapping his arms around her back.

Only after a long time when their lips parted did Raphaela dizzy and confusedly retreat a bit, looking infatuatedly at the Fisher before her eyes, saying,

"I just secretly came over, but I don't care. Didn't you say on the carriage previously, wanting it when we returned."

"I also said doing this isn't good for the baby..."

"Slap!"

The tail behind her dissatisfiedly slapped the warm spring water, obviously not accepting this answer of Fisher's.

And since matters had reached this point, Fisher obviously also couldn't escape, couldn't refuse anymore...

Just that before that, he still couldn't help but think of those exceptionally harmonious three madams on Keken's ship. As a pure Naris gentleman, he perhaps still harbored a bit of such a completely unrealistic fantasy.

Therefore, he questioned,

"Wait, then those words you said this morning..."

Raphaela puffed her cheeks, temporarily not wanting to chat about this topic, merely using her tail to entangle him increasingly tightly, preventing him from escaping and opening his mouth again.

Well, seems like getting away is impossible.

"Creak..."

But right before heavenly thunder met earthly fire, the moment Fisher was preparing to sacrifice his life for righteousness, right above this sealed hot spring, amidst the dense mist, a faint, careful sound of unlocking, sound of the door opening rang out in succession.

To two existences who simultaneously entered the Mythical Rank, this kind of sound was exceptionally obvious, even as if a thunderclap.

That virtual thunderclap instantly made Raphaela and Fisher's bodies in the hot spring stiffen up. The two of them quieted down simultaneously, blankly looking towards the direction of the door wrapped by mist making it unclear...

The next second, a small, careful calling sound rang out from within,

"Teacher Fisher?"

"..."

"Teacher Fisher?"

Amidst the hazy mist, Jasmine's careful voice transmitted from afar, making both Fisher and Raphaela adhering to his body stiffen slightly, simultaneously looking towards there. But at the same time and same moment, both of them didn't dare to speak.

"..."

After being stunned for a or two seconds, it was still Fisher who successfully reacted first. Just as he was about to open his mouth, he was tightly pressed on the lips by Raphaela in front of him, eliminating all words in his mouth.

Fisher then hurriedly turned his head looking at her, and saw her anxiously raising a finger placing it before her own lips, using her gaze to signal Fisher to keep quiet,

"Don't speak."

"..."

Fisher looked at her innocently, his body temporarily not having any other movements, just quietly listening like this together with Raphaela to the faintly discernible sounds at the door and the movements she transmitted.

"Eh, could it be already finished washing? So fast?"

Jasmine's doubtful voice transmitted over, making Raphaela slightly let out a breath of relief. But the next second, Jasmine's voice transmitted over again,

"No, the door of the changing room isn't closed yet, and there are still clothes in the clothes basket... Could it be fell asleep inside?"

Changing room?

What changing room?

Fisher blinked his eyes turning his head to look at Raphaela, and she also widened her eyes lowering her head to glance at that white bath towel floating on the water surface, then knew the one who just opened the changing room to take the bath towel was her.

Just that Jasmine seemingly thought it was the changing room used by Fisher, and didn't check whose clothing was inside that changing basket...

Now it's great, lifting a rock to smash one's own foot.

"Teacher Fisher? Teacher Fisher, where are you? I'm coming oh..."

Fisher looked at Raphaela, using simple expressions and gaze exchange to convey his own meaning.

"What do we do about this?"

"..."

He raised his head casting a glance over there, then gently removed the claws she enveloped on his lips, meaning:

"How about just directly letting her come over".

"No way!!"

Raphaela thought for a moment, her face instantly becoming completely red. This time she directly and forcefully reached out two hands covering his lips, obviously strictly refusing.

She just formally said today everyone goes back to their own rest, with great difficulty Jasmine also agreed. As a result she herself ran over to sneak a bite... Although Jasmine afterwards also secretly came over, but if by chance she was caught by her, then she wouldn't know where to put this face of hers.

She had a little baby, doing this was also... also too licentious.

But this wasn't right, that wasn't right either. Jasmine's calling voice continued to ring out in the hot spring akin to a death knell demanding life. She seemingly firmly believed Fisher hadn't left, but instead fell asleep in some unknown soup pool due to drowsiness.

At this time it precisely required a cute and dissatisfied Whale-kin like her to comfort.

"Then what do we do?"

Fisher soundlessly looked at Raphaela, seeking a solution from her. And Raphaela pursed her lips, while adhering to Fisher's body, while speaking to him extremely softly,

"Quickly make Jasmine leave..."

"How do I make her leave?"

"Aiya, you... you quickly casually find a reason, otherwise I... I'll really die of shame!"

"..."

Looking at Raphaela's pitiful, completely red-faced appearance, Fisher also had no choice but to consider the subsequent impact.

Although after experiencing the impact of the scenes on Keken's ship during the day, he perhaps indeed held certain fantasies regarding the so-called "Blessing of Multiple Wives". But deliberately thinking about it, he still decided not to embarrass Raphaela.

Alright, for Raphaela's mental health, Fisher still decided to suppress his desires to help her pass this difficulty.

Fisher nodded his head, pondered for a bit, then gently slapped the water surface with his hand, pretending a very drowsy voice suddenly opening his mouth,

"Jasmine?"

"Teacher Fisher, are you asleep?"

The voice was still quite far from here, she should be searching along the outer side, little did she know Fisher directly walked to the middle to bathe.

"Ah, instantly relaxing suddenly accidentally fell asleep. Why did you come, or are you also here to take a bath?"

"Ah? I..." Jasmine hesitated for a moment, then somewhat embarrassedly said, "Right, I... I'm also here to take a bath, Teacher Fisher. So coincidental ah, hehe..."

"..."

How come the reasons you guys use are exactly the same?

Fisher helplessly cast a glance at Raphaela in his embrace, she then shamefully reached out a claw pushing his face, telling him to hurry up and tell Jasmine to leave. He then had no choice but to open his mouth again,

"I'm almost done washing, about to leave."

"Eh, can't you wait a little while more? I... I'm coming over now!"

"Smack..."

Raphaela angrily reached out to pinch his waist, seemingly blaming him for handling matters unfavorably, to actually draw the enemy over. But what could Fisher do, could he directly open his mouth to drive people away, wouldn't that appear even more strange, afraid it would arouse her suspicion.

"Wait, Jasmine, then can you help me go to the changing room to fetch a bath towel?"

"Eh?" Jasmine's hurrying footsteps paused in place, then heard him agree, "Alright, incidentally I'll also go change clothes, wait a moment oh, Teacher Fisher."

Subsequently, it was her footsteps heading to the changing room. Waiting until the changing room's door closed, when a bit of rustling sound transmitted from within, Fisher then once again looked at Raphaela, saying in a low voice,

"This is a good opportunity, take advantage of her being in the changing room haven't discovered yet, you quickly leave."

"Alright..."

Raphaela subconsciously nodded her head wanting to rise, but suddenly realized something again, hurriedly turning her head to look at Fisher saying,

"Hah? Wait, I leave? Then wouldn't that leave you here to secretly do that kind of thing with Jasmine?"

"I have no solution ah, who knew you two thought exactly the same? Don't tell me I can't today?"

Saying these kinds of words out loud Fisher himself didn't believe it, not to mention Raphaela and Jasmine.

Raphaela's face blushed with shame. This truly made one totally unexpected. After separating respectively she and Jasmine coinciding without prior agreement chose to come over, and even embarrassingly crashed like this.

But Raphaela had already been shamed to the extreme, how could she be willing to admit her own lust drove her to act. Anyway even if she didn't come Jasmine would also come. Not to mention Fisher's attitude looked so welcoming to anyone, making her couldn't help but suspect,

"Fisher, did you already think like this long ago, wanting to let me and Jasmine you... Had I known earlier I wouldn't have said those words to you in the morning! Push... pushing your luck!"

"I'm not, I didn't..."

Alright, actually there was a tiny bit, Fisher also had no choice but to admit this. Not knowing if it was because only today reuniting with Keken after a long separation, thus awakening his Nari genes he had been separated from for a long time.

But right now wasn't the time to fuss about whether possessing such thoughts, Fisher merely cast a glance at the direction of the changing room amidst the mist, hurriedly turning his head saying to Raphaela,

"Hurry up, what if Jasmine comes out later? If it really doesn't work you come back later?"

"..."

Raphaela shamedly glared at him, but she also truly had no solution, could only sway standing up from the pool water, wrapping the already completely drenched bath towel walking to the edge of the pool soundlessly walking into the hazy mist.

Watching Raphaela finally leave, Fisher also couldn't help but let out a breath of relief, anyhow helping her pass this embarrassing difficulty.

But a dozen seconds later, that hazy mist actually ran back a blurry figure again.

Fisher was slightly stunned, turning his head to look. Other than that nervously looking Raphaela who else could it be.

He unbelievably looked at Raphaela who ran back, couldn't help but also follow suit becoming tense, then softly asked,

"Why did you come back again?"

Raphaela nervously re-entered the pool, uneasily looking towards the direction of the changing room saying to Fisher,

"I... I hadn't walked out the door of the changing room when it opened. She already... finished changing. This... isn't this too fast, she is too anxious!"

"..."

Fisher opened his mouth turning his head to look over there. Eagerly demanding people always had an indescribable motivation. At this kind of crucial moment even the most famous lazy person in the West Continent would also be infected with a swift and decisive habit.

But Fisher still didn't understand. He hurriedly looked at Raphaela, asking in a low voice,

"Then you also shouldn't have come back to me ah, casually finding a pool further away to hide making her unable to discover you isn't it better?"

"..."

Raphaela's emerald green pupils were already a bit dizzy and confused. Only through Fisher saying this did she realize it seemed to be like this. But where had she experienced this kind of scene, obviously not as composed as Fisher, already at a loss for what to do, had no choice but to ask,

"Then what do we do?"

What do we do, wait for death.

Fisher was already completely out of ideas. He and Raphaela stared blankly at each other for a moment, until Jasmine's voice akin to a death knell not far away rang out again,

"Teacher Fisher, I finished changing and am coming over oh~"

"..."

Raphaela struck with panic sized up the surroundings, even starting to lower her head looking towards the water surface, not knowing if she was considering diving this kind of helpless move.

While not far away, sounds of Jasmine's bare feet touching the ground rang out in succession. Her shadow also swayed getting increasingly closer, the voice also became increasingly closer,

"Teacher Fisher, could it be... Raphaela is right here?"

"!!"

Raphaela widened her eyes, clutching her chest, the heartbeat sounds there were frighteningly fast.

How could she know?!

"Originally wanted to inspect Teacher Fisher's clothing, but placed inside the changing basket in the changing room, seems to be Raphaela's clothes..."

Fisher helplessly cast a glance at Raphaela who had already frozen in place. Tonight she was truly producing disastrous moves one after another, had she known earlier shouldn't have told Jasmine to cease drums and rest today, who knew coming out was caught right in the act.

Fisher sighed. And amidst the nearby mist, Jasmine also draped in a bath towel had already walked near, catching right in the act the Raphaela lingering in the pool with a bit of panic, a ruddy complexion, and dodging gaze.

Jasmine playfully pouted, using her hands to grasp the bath towel draped on her body, but still unable to conceal that softness akin to mountain ranges. She looked at Raphaela who sneaked a run in the pool. Amidst the silence, seemingly there was a kind of soft feeling of sending an army to hold her accountable.

"..."

Raphaela's face reddened slightly, had no choice but to put on a brave face saying,

"I... I only came to take a bath preparing to rest..."

"Truly too much, Raphaela, clearly it was you yourself who said resting tonight!"

"... Then you didn't listen to me either, didn't you also secretly run out, don't tell me it was also to take a bath?"

Jasmine also became somewhat embarrassed, but she raised her head pouting her lips pondering for a moment, the massive whale tail behind her also swaying up and down a bit, then walked straight towards the pool,

"Of... of course, then let's take a bath!"

The warm pool water under the wreathing mist similarly became blurry, but still obviously making her bath towel along with softness all float up.

As a Whale-kin living in the sea, Jasmine immediately became agile like a sprite upon entering the water.

Only seeing her let out a breath of relief, the whale tail behind her slightly swaying and swam towards Fisher in the pool water. When re-emerging from the water surface, the gentle glow among her fair skin, also made her azure blue long hair appear exceptionally watery and lively.

She sat down by Fisher's side, yet without superfluous movements, as if echoing her previous statement, truly as if just coming over to take a bath.

Seeing this, Raphaela also realized this seemed to be a formless stepping stone. Even if each other's purpose was understood without words, but at least right now, ostensibly their purpose of coming here was only to clean the body nothing more.

She swayed her tail, also dragging the bath towel nodding sitting to the other side of Fisher, speaking with a trembling voice,

"Alright, then let's take a bath..."

The Dragon Queen and the Whale-kin Priest simultaneously quieted down. But this made Fisher appear somewhat suffering unspeakable misery. He sat motionless sensing the spring water surging all around because of their movements, just like tangible touches, harboring a bit of fragrance, announcing their simultaneous arrival.

Moreover not knowing if it was an illusion, he always felt the temperature in the pool instantly rose by dozens of degrees, becoming exceptionally scorching hot.

"..."

He swallowed a mouthful of saliva, reached out his hands covering his own face leaning against the stone wall behind him. Allowing the warm spring water in his palms to flow down his face, washing his highly defined muscular upper body.

Raphaela and Jasmine caught a glimpse of this dripping flowing crystal in the corners of their eyes. The moment their throats slightly surged simultaneously withdrew their gazes. They respectively lowered their heads using hot water to soak their bodies. For a moment, it truly resembled coming to this place to wash, devoid of any desire to speak of.

"... Phew."

Fisher covered his face without uttering a word. Conversely it was Jasmine who felt the atmosphere was somewhat embarrassing, she then softly exhaled a breath of hot air, looking at the dense mist all around, softly saying,

"Truly quiet ah..."

"This is the depths of the Dragon Court, in the past when we came here to wash it was also this quiet ah..."

In the past, they also frequently came over together. Instead it was Fisher's arrival that made the atmosphere become strange. At this moment suddenly quieting down Raphaela and Jasmine also instantly recovered that kind of feeling from the past, Raphaela then spoke like so.

"I'm not talking about the sound here, this kind of quietness more resembles disappearing since two and a half years ago... because after that we have constantly been preparing for war right. Although everyone worked until night very exhausted so it was very quiet, but now finally let the great hidden danger in the heart disappear."

"Yeah, without Barbatos that group of demons, whether the Pseudo-Court or that group of Human Allied Army are nothing more than a tray of loose sand. Not passing much time, we will be able to liberate the entire Southern Continent..."

"Raphaela you definitely can achieve it."

"... It's we definitely can achieve it."

Listening to Raphaela's voice, Jasmine instead still appeared confused. She stretched out white palms from the water, somewhat lacking confidence saying,

"But, right now destruction might have already arrived. Even Raphaela you have already entered the Mythical Rank, I however still remain stagnant, unable to fulfill mother's promise... maybe not knowing when mother will reveal herself, then capture me returning to the seabed."

At this time Fisher who constantly restrained himself, even the muscles on his body already having swelling veins suddenly placed his hands on his own face. Reminiscing something, he asked Jasmine,

"Jasmine, previously at the Demon Dynasty didn't you sense that 'Base' might be the opportunity for you to enter the Mythical Rank? Besides, you said at that time you even dreamed of your father."

"Hmm..." Jasmine pondered for a moment, subsequently turned her head to look at Fisher smilingly saying, "However perhaps that was also just a dream, also perhaps father missed me, yearning for me thus I would dream of the things I wanted?"

"Base huh..."

Gou Wen was in the Spirit World, while the Crevice was also precisely the realm of dreams, so Fisher didn't believe the dream Jasmine had was groundless, conversely it was truly possible Gou Wen was reminding her of something.

The Crevice was the incarnation of the Spirit World's contamination power. That was to say, the opportunity for Jasmine to enter the Mythical Rank was actually related to the Spirit World's contamination?

Why did it sound a bit dangerous?

But if Jasmine was Xuan Shen's daughter, it made no sense to remain stagnant at the Mythic Rank for so long.

Although the logic such as "Dragon begets dragon, phoenix begets phoenix" was too absolute and undesirable, but after all Jasmine herself was a member related to the World-Ending Prophecy. The Blessing upon her body was still the direct manifestation of Ramastia's power. Superimposing these three factors, it was impossible for Jasmine to be so mediocre, it made no sense both reasonably and logically.

The only possible explanation was that upon Jasmine's body there existed a certain uniqueness she herself hadn't discovered yet.

And Raphaela hearing this also realized a bit of loss beneath Jasmine's smile, she also opened her mouth to comfort,

"It's fine Jasmine, you definitely are just lacking a tiny bit of opportunity. Previously I also didn't anticipate entering the Mythical Rank when losing consciousness... blessing and bane go hand in hand, I rather wish I could remain before the Mythical Rank, this way the baby might not suffer this kind of completely undeserved disaster. However well, constantly worrying conversely will only bind us from advancing, so put your mind at ease, we will both have a solution..."

"Mmn."

Jasmine nodded her head, using her hands to stroke her own chest. Above the water surface splashed layer upon layer of ripples, slapping onto Fisher's skin, making his gaze become increasingly somber.

The atmosphere between them warmed bit by bit, but by Fisher here it was seemingly multiplied, thus becoming exceptionally scorching hot.

He sighed, subsequently suddenly reaching out his hands, amidst Raphaela and Jasmine's totally unexpected gazes suddenly reached out to embrace them simultaneously.

"Tea... Teacher Fisher?!"

The bath towels unsupported on the water surface fell behind them. Their voices harboring a few parts shame and few parts tender annoyance simultaneously rang out,

"Fisher you... you... you what are you doing?!"

Raphaela's tail and claws gently slapped on his back, and Jasmine also unable to stand supported herself on his chest, making him increasingly resemble an unrestrainable wild beast.

And as a response, he racked his brains yet still hadn't thought of a legitimate reason, could only use a clumsy excuse,

"... I have an item of research requiring you guys to cooperate a bit."

"Huh? Research? Now? What research, curre... ah! Wait..."

"Teacher Fisher?!"

The slapping sounds of the hot spring pool water rang out, the dense mist tacitly rose, concealing the scene within, transforming into an unspeakable secret realm.

The hazy water vapor diffused little by little, transforming last night's spring scenery into a lingering dream, turning into the bubbles of summer before the arrival of the next morning's sunlight, scattering into beautiful memories.

In the morning, when Fisher tangibly touched the sleeping soft and tender body beside him, a sense of satisfaction surged within his heart, even making him want time to stop moving forward at this moment.

But after all, this was only an extravagant hope, a delusion.

Waking up very early, he appeared mentally stimulated, showing not a single trace of exhaustion from being consumed. Instead, he had a spirited expression of fighting more courageously the more he fought.

The early morning outside the window was as quiet as last night, but in the corner of his eye, the illusory crimson in the sky had become increasingly dense, gradually enveloping this patch of sky, allowing one to catch a glimpse of the true situation within the Spirit World from this corner.

The collapse of the Crevice was still continuing, and the process of the World-Ending Prophecy hadn't been resolved yet. It was also time for him to continue rushing about.

"..."

He opened his mouth, slowly sitting up, turning his head to look at the flowing red and blue long hair in his palm, as well as the two females curled up in the blankets not far from him, feeling a bit of emotion in his heart.

Perhaps prior to last night, he couldn't have imagined what kind of good days Keken, his junior from the Royal Academy, had been privately living.

The corners of his mouth curled up a bit without disturbing the still-sleeping Jasmine and Raphaela. He turned sideways getting out of bed to change his clothes, intending to formally tackle the previously mentioned difficulties one by one.

Going to Naris was already inevitable. But prior to that, there were still some leftover matters within the Dragon Court needing to be resolved, and this was also the reason he stayed here.

He still wore the archangel robe Helaire gave him. Quietly walking out of Raphaela's room, he took out the Completion Manual Holland left behind, preparing to return to his own room to read the Death Completion Manual.

Opening his room door, he saw Eimhart lying squarely on his bed completely bored. Watching Fisher return he even yawned and complained,

"Mmn, let me guess where you rested last night... Definitely at Raphaela's place, am I right?"

"Right, but also not right."

"What do you mean?" Eimhart floated up, doubtfully saying, "Could it be you pretended to go to Raphaela's place, but finally ended up at Jasmine's place?"

"Right, but also not right."

"?"

"It's exactly what you are thinking."

"..."

Eimhart was already staring dumbfounded, speechless from shock to the point of turning into an actual book lying on the bed.

While Fisher allowed him to digest it, he himself sat before his desk. First taking out the Demi-Human Girl Completion Manual from his embrace and placing it on the desktop. Following the surging of illusory golden light, a series of texts surfaced before his eyes,

【Multi-species composite research have been completed. The research project you chose is: Biology Research】

【You have obtained sufficient biology research progress for 'Dragon-kin' and 'Whale-kin', congratulations】

【Unlock Reward: Chinese Translation Permission, Otherworld Language Identification Permission. The first part condition for the seventeenth rank has been completed】

【Contributor's Tip: The language I use is called 'Chinese' from another world. Over the lengthy past years, it entrusted all my emotions and secrets. Now, all the traces I left in this world are fully open to you. You can translate these characters you don't know through the Demi-Human Girl Completion Manual, while non-Chinese characters will have their names and origins clarified for you; incidentally, if you wish you can incidentally learn my language.】

As those golden lights flickered past, countless square-shaped texts rushed into the Demi-Human Girl Completion Manual like ribbons, as if granting it the ability to distinguish languages.

"..."

Fisher remained silent for a moment, looking at this reward from the book that didn't really count as a reward, pondering its uses.

Next he would head to the place where Demi-Human Girl Con left items in Naris. Inside there should also be many texts she personally wrote, which could be identified for their specific contents through this method.

Besides that, if he encountered texts left behind by other Transferred Persons he could also know the name of that language through the Demi-Human Girl Completion Manual, which was considered quite convenient.

Right, earlier he remembered seemingly seeing Demi-Human Girl Con's notes somewhere, exactly on the night Renee came looking for him and they went to the Tree Continent ruins together.

Fisher decided to immediately put it into practice. He spread open the final blank page of the Demi-Human Girl Completion Manual, subsequently picking up the pen beside the desk to write upon it.

Very quickly, some crooked otherworld square fonts flowed out from Fisher's hand and fell onto the paper. Simultaneously, below appeared a small line of Naris text serving as translation, reading:

"People say, for Lord Tao the responsibility of elves is a preciousness acted upon without thinking; but I say, for this world in imminent danger, Lord Tao is an unparalleled treasure."

"People say, the moment the eldest sister Tao dies, the destruction of elves is destined; but I say, the moment the elves are destroyed, Tao's destiny has just begun."

"In this world there is still a peach blossom blooming deep beneath the buried ice and snow. Eventually there will be a day the ice and snow clears, she will bloom within the memories within the minds of living beings, to fulfill the unfulfilled mission from when she was alive."

It seemed to be the memorial Demi-Human Girl Con wrote for Lord Tao after the elves perished. Just that there seemingly were two doubtful points in it, Fisher didn't understand their significance.

The first was the last sentence. He wasn't clear if Demi-Human Girl Con was implying Lord Tao didn't die, because from the second sentence she had already indicated Lord Tao had died. As for that so-called "peach blossom blooming deep beneath the buried ice and snow", the things it could represent were truly too many.

It could possibly be certain relics left behind by Lord Tao, also possibly certain traces recording Lord Tao's deeds, which would help certain living beings reading those deeds accomplish certain matters.

The second doubtful point was, in the first sentence, Demi-Human Girl Con described Lord Tao as a "treasure". Reading the Life Completion Manual, he was currently a bit sensitive towards this vocabulary, unclear if Demi-Human Girl Con here merely meant normal praise or harbored deeper meanings.

He furrowed his brows pondering for a moment, but also felt his suspicions weren't unreasonable. Because in the end Lord Tao read the Life Completion Manual obtaining a massive amount of Life Chaos, to the point of already entering the chaotic demigod stage, sheltering the Elf-kin throughout the Mythical War period.

If Demi-Human Girl Con understood the relationship between Lord Tao and the Life Completion Manual, then the reference here shouldn't be accidental. This meant, upon Lord Tao's body there were clues regarding the treasure, and now the clues for the "final peach blossom" might be in the Northern Territory—after all "deep beneath the buried ice and snow" this kind of place only the Northern Territory relatively fit the description.

Fisher let out a breath of relief. Finding new clues he couldn't help but feel joy in his heart.

The key lay in, if the treasure's clues were related to the Northern Territory he might not even need to personally go to the Northern Territory. He still possessed the resources of Valentiina and the slimes, which could help him save a lot of effort when he went to Naris, allowing him to focus on handling the matters regarding Elizabeth and Naris.

It seemed, this function of the Demi-Human Girl Completion Manual wasn't completely useless.

He hurriedly placed down the Completion Manual in his hands, looking out the window at Keken's anchored merchant ship, wishing he could immediately go have the slimes help search for clues related to "Lord Tao" and "Treasure".

And behind him, that Eimhart who had played dead for half a day watching him look around at the merchant ship outside, then reminded,

"We are leaving the day after tomorrow. Shouldn't you return to the Demon Dynasty once before leaving?"

Fisher raised an eyebrow, turning his head looking at him doubtfully saying,

"Were you stimulated silly by me? Actually taking the initiative suggesting I go bid farewell to Helaire before leaving?"

"Who told you to go bid farewell to her?! Ptooie! Ptooie! Ptooie!"

Hearing these words, Eimhart hurriedly flew up refuting,

"I'm telling you to go check on her situation, best to ensure she is truly, one hundred percent, absolutely inevitably sealed within the Demon Dynasty! I don't want her pretending to be sealed in there, and later when we go to Naris encountering some weird things unable to suspect her because she is sealed!! At that time if I say 'it's all Baimon's fault', will you again say I have paranoia!!?"

"When did I say you had paranoia?"

"Previously you clearly always thought like this! If we don't let you suffer a bit from Baimon you will never know her formidability, even after being played in the palm of her hands you still have to say thank you to her!"

While silently memorizing the translated Chinese on the Completion Manual, Fisher took out the Death Completion Manual again. This was the content he needed to read right now. He merely shook his head saying,

"Before leaving I will return to the Demon Dynasty once. I indeed need to bid farewell to Eliog and Helaire... but at the same time, I will also verify Helaire's status. Right now her plan has already failed, destruction has already begun, and there is only this path I've chosen left to walk."

"Right, it must be like this. Best to be one hundred percent certain she won't come out again... I don't want to be in Naris or any other place suspecting so-and-so might be Baimon. My god, just thinking about it gives me the chills."

Eimhart muttered like so while jumping onto Fisher's shoulder.

And Fisher smoothly spread open the Death Completion Manual in his hands. On the title page there was still a line of otherworld text Fisher didn't recognize. But because it appeared on the Completion Manual, therefore Fisher could distinguish its specific meaning,

"This manual will teach you the enigma of escaping death."

When first starting to read this book, Fisher realized this was a Completion Manual with exceptionally strong religious connotations. Because the contributor of this Completion Manual started by describing a very bizarre scenario, and replaced it using a realistic story from his own world.

The author was a human named "Abraham". Aside from this name and the massive amount of prayer texts recorded in the text, Fisher didn't discover any other records regarding himself. The rest of the massive pen strokes used parables one by one to describe the logic he himself wanted to express, conveying the knowledge contained within.

Abraham said life has three vague levels, respectively being animal, wisdom, and god.

The first level's animal is very simple, they comply with their own instincts, haven't bathed in God's care. Under the heavens this kind of life is the most numerous. They are non-sapient animals, therefore led and utilized by sapient beings.

The second level's life just like its name possesses precious wisdom. They possess souls, can be civilized by God, knowing things perhaps not much, but able to recognize and distinguish the world around them.

The third level's life is even higher than wisdom. The wisdom He possesses is unimaginable, the strength possessed is also unimaginable. Even if similarly possessing an end, it is nonetheless a category unable to be cognized by wisdom.

Then, under this assumption, if the "life" of living beings has levels, then does their "death" also have levels?

There is. But differently from the distinctly leveled life, their deaths have both distinctions, and are similarly unified.

As the death of animals, their death is minute. The moment death descends, his everything will turn into flying ashes, stopping at the moment of death; And as the death of wisdom, his death wouldn't mean complete stillness. Because their wisdom, their souls are independent from death. Therefore after death, they would still have some remnants.

And as the death of gods, their death completely doesn't mean death. Because their wisdom is potent to the point it won't disappear, won't alter, strength potent to the point even death cannot eliminate it, even able to connect to the moment of his birth. This is the death of the highest layer.

Although deaths are mutually different, they still possess unity. Reading this Completion Manual is also equivalent to pursuing the commonality of the three kinds of death. Using one's own "wisdom" tracing the origins of the distinctions and unity of the three kinds of death, until melding them into one body, becoming what Abraham ultimately called the "Trinity of Death".

The exploration path leading to the highest level is varied and diverse, "Death", is also one such path.

When you ultimately arrive at perfection, becoming the "Trinity of Death", this also means you have completely achieved the "Death of Gods", becoming an existence that will never perish.

Using the level of "wisdom", whether bending down to pry into the death of "animals", or raising the head seeking the death of "gods", from a certain angle are both unreasonable profanities. This kind of pursuit is bound to become unclean, and will cause one's original death to twist and change during your process of pursuing the ultimate "Trinity of Death"...

And the Death Completion Manual under this context is divided into three parts, respectively being the three chapters of "Death of Animals", "Death of Wisdom", "Death of Gods".

Reading the first part requires manufacturing massive amounts of animal deaths, to completely master the demise lower than oneself.

Reading the second part requires manufacturing massive amounts of wisdom deaths, to overturn one's own original end.

Reading the third part then requires witnessing the death of gods, to catch a glimpse of the truth behind the gods' end.

When completely finishing reading this Completion Manual, the "Trinity of Death" will bloom within the reader's body.

Fisher quietly read the first part of the Death Completion Manual in his hands just like this, which was the first part parsing "Death of Animals".

The first part detailed how to rely on the death of animals to absorb the enigma within.

Among them, Abraham believed "Death of Animals" was a lower class death beneath the "Death of Wisdom", not possessing the necessity to learn, the only use was also just "utilization".

This meant, the Death Completion Manual could absorb a certain kind of energy from the death of non-sapient life forms like animals, this was also the beginner foundation of the first part.

The remaining parts then revolved around how to wield these energies absorbed from the death of animals.

Simpler ones could use these energies to awaken dead animals and utilize them. The previous Holland precisely controlled those little birds like this.

This also happened to reflect that he who just sought death hadn't deeply researched this path, otherwise he wouldn't have obtained the Death Completion Manual for so long yet still lingered at the beginning of the first part.

Worth mentioning was, because of the level distinction of death, before reaching the realm of the "Trinity of Death", death absorbed from animals could only be used on animals, and couldn't be sapient beings.

Deeper applications could then apply these powers to directly transform living animals into an undead state, thereby cyclically absorbing energy...

All in all, the various kinds in this part were entirely aimed at the "Death of Animals", basically useless to the current Fisher. He then didn't exert too much effort to memorize or specifically mark out certain contents.

Even so, just reading the first part spent a lot of his time. This was entirely because when this Transferred Person named "Abraham" wrote this Completion Manual, he added many, many otherworld religious terminologies, making it quite tongue-twisting for Fisher to read.

The entire text didn't lack his sincere faith towards that one named "True Lord". This kind of writing method was still quite unique and distinctive among the Completion Manuals Fisher had read.

He didn't read too much content, after all right now he had already figured out the method to completely read the Death Completion Manual.

Honestly speaking, starting from the reading conditions of the second part's content it became a bit troublesome, because this might require a massive amount of deaths of sapient beings.

Until the third part "Witnessing the death of gods", it made him feel somewhat at a loss for what to do.

These Completion Manuals, either required a riddle like "Treasure", or just like this, even if it told you the requirement, this requirement was also very difficult to complete.

However it's just because from ancient times until now perhaps only Fisher such an existence could read more than one Completion Manual that made this path appear so complicated.

Seeing as the sky outside had already become completely bright, no longer the haziness when he just got up, Fisher also temporarily closed the Death Completion Manual, stood up preparing to go back and check on Raphaela and Jasmine.

Different from reading the Soul and Life Completion Manuals, after reading the Death Completion Manual Fisher temporarily hadn't discovered any obvious side effects. It was just like reading a bizarre and obscure academic secret manual, besides his brain feeling a bit swollen there were no other feelings. Not knowing if it was because his beginner level was still shallow.

"Tsk tsk tsk, truly hard to imagine what kind of expressions those two have right now. They are truly generous, not knowing if it's because you are about to leave the Southern Continent soon, therefore specially giving you a little souvenir, fearing when you go to Naris your soul will be hooked away by Elizabeth this first love?"

Just as Fisher pushed open the door, walking in the corridor within the Royal Court, his mind pondering the Death Completion Manual, the Eimhart on his shoulder smacked his lips, speaking like so.

Fisher cast a glance at him, speechlessly opening his mouth saying,

"Saying it as if Elizabeth will lay out flowers to welcome me like that. This time returning to Naris will have many troubles needing to be resolved. Not to mention Valentiina also communicated with Elizabeth, no matter what was written in the letter, Elizabeth will definitely complain about me, complaining about me not returning to meet her at the first opportunity."

"Mmn, however if you are willing to obediently lie on her Golden Palace's bed, what awaits you isn't only flowers, there's also a diamond ring."

"... Yes, also shackles and leather whips."

Fisher sighed. And just in between their low-voiced conversation, they also very quickly returned to the doorway of Raphaela's bedroom.

Fisher pushed open the door to take a look, but discovered inside was already completely empty. The blankets, bath towels and clothes scattered on the ground were also swept clean. It was obvious they had already gotten up and cleaned last night's bashful battlefield.

Although this also made Eimhart unable to imagine exactly how intense last night's battle situation was, but anyhow it couldn't possibly be three people lying together counting stars right?

Fisher exited the room and went to the room not far next door to check on Yali'er's situation. She still hadn't woken up, lying on the bed resting her eyes sleeping peacefully.

Seeing this Eimhart couldn't help but say,

"You are truly courageous oh. Last night Yali'er was even still sleeping right here, you dared to sleep in the adjacent room not far from her, and even brought along Jasmine."

"Earlier Raphaela Jasmine and I were in the hot spring. Originally when returning we prepared to rest..."

Eimhart opened his mouth, using the original word to question,

"Originally?"

Fisher nodded his head straight-faced, repeating,

"Originally."

"..."

Eimhart was out of words again, before Fisher this seemed to be a frequent occurrence.

While Fisher while sizing up Yali'er on the bed, suddenly also felt it was somewhat weird. It looked like she wasn't purely plunged into a coma because of that tsunami.

First of all, on Yali'er's body there weren't any obvious external injuries. Yesterday when Raphaela examined she should also not have discovered any, otherwise wouldn't have not mentioned it.

And putting aside physical trauma, even if she suffered fright because the incident occurred suddenly and the situation was urgent, it was also unlikely to continuously be in a coma for a day and a night right...

Thinking up to this point, Fisher then happened to reach out giving her a bit of simple examination once again.

During the sizing up, only then did he suddenly discover the color of the dragon horns on Yali'er's head was somewhat dim.

Linking to what dragon horns meant to Dragon-kin, he once again examined Yali'er's Mana Circuit, didn't expect truly discovering clues.

Yali'er's soul seemingly lacked a very small portion, and this portion was still slowly growing in, only this resulted in her having not yet woken up.

A lack in the soul precisely meant a defect produced in consciousness. Just like physical wounds could heal, the soul's ability to self-heal was even stronger than the physical body's.

But the key was, Fisher discovered a wisp of residual faint morning light above the dim dragon horns on Yali'er's forehead...