novelraw Chapter 580: The Person in the Gate
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..."