novelraw Chapter 598: Helaire's Paintings
Chapter 598: Helaire's Paintings
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.