novelraw Chapter 575: "Witch" Fisher
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.