novelraw Chapter 601: In Her Home
Chapter 601: In Her Home
"...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."