novelraw Chapter 741: Believe in Fisher's Wisdom
Chapter 741: Believe in Fisher's Wisdom
The undercurrents of the scarlet-colored mist seemed to have discovered Fisher observing it and suddenly expanded. What was calm as water a second ago seemed to turn into a storm carrying monstrous waves the next.
"Crack, crack, crack, crack!"
Under Fisher's astonished gaze, the place where the Scarlet Mist spread actually brought about a feeling that seemed to shatter space itself.
But even faster than his reaction was Anabatos's light of destiny from above.
"Buzz!"
"It seems the opponent has already made a move first. This sense of restlessness is different from before..."
Renee's expression also became extremely unsightly after seeing the Scarlet Mist devour the space of reality. She frowned and muttered,
"It even devoured Reality?"
"How could... unless..."
Anabatos watched the howling Scarlet Mist, and the second half of its doubt seemed to get stuck in nothingness. Looking at the vast Scarlet Mist, the place where Gou Wen was hiding flashed through Fisher's mind..."Jasmine, the Scarlet Mist devoured Jasmine?!"
"..."
Anabatos sighed helplessly. The aurora-like golden light surrounding it extended in a line like a heavenly moat, forming a wall that distorted space and time to block the Scarlet Mist's advance.
"I'll hold this side to prevent it from getting close to the Barrier; Ouyun is also at the edge over there. Renee, you and Ramastia go to the Crevice. We absolutely cannot let that Scarlet Mist erode the Crevice and enter Reality..."
Renee was just about to nod, but Fisher shook his head and said,
"There's no longer a need for that. It's coming towards here."
Anabatos was slightly taken aback. The spreading Scarlet Mist ahead, exactly as Fisher had said, showed absolutely no intention of approaching the Crevice. Instead, it continuously converged and became more viscous, forming the appearance of a massive cloud layer...
Immediately after, it began to crash towards the direction of the Barrier.
Fisher's sharp eyes caught sight of the airship piloted by Gou Wen and David heading this way, but no matter what, they couldn't outrun the rapidly spreading Scarlet Mist. In almost an instant, the airship carrying Gou Wen and David was completely devoured by the Scarlet Mist and submerged within it.
Eimhart was still on the ship!!
Watching the ship's hull be completely devoured by the Scarlet Mist, Fisher's pupils shrank. His feet involuntarily lifted forward, wanting to head over there, but there was already no need, because the Scarlet Mist had already crashed relentlessly against the barrier formed by Anabatos's power.
"Rumble!!"
The enormous impact, which felt like it could shatter space, could not be entirely blocked by Anabatos's power, causing the Sea of Souls to directly experience the fluctuations. Standing above, Fisher felt as if he were going to fly straight up. He tumbled two and a half times in mid-air, raised his eyes to look at Anabatos's barrier, and unexpectedly saw that the originally illusory golden light was covered with colorful flowers...
Was it affected by Dream Illusion's power?
"You guys leave quickly, I can't hold on for long... This contamination is not on the same magnitude as before. It might have already devoured Asuka Karasawa's soul. This guy right now..."
"Crack, crack, crack, crack!"
As expected, the moment Anabatos spoke, Fisher saw the barrier that had completely turned into flowers shatter completely, and the boundless Scarlet Mist lunged fiercely towards the Sea of Souls.
"Hurry, Fisher!"
The incarnation of Renee beside him hastily reached out and grabbed Fisher. Facing the Scarlet Mist attacking like a tsunami before them, the moonlight of her true body also condensed into substance, wrapping around Fisher's body and pulling him backwards.
But at this moment, an ethereal, familiar voice carrying grievance and despair suddenly came from behind Fisher,
"Teacher Fisher..."
Fisher froze slightly, for that voice was so familiar and soft that he recognized the owner almost instantly.
"Asuka?"
Fisher turned to look, only to see the Scarlet Mist reaching out like countless hands grabbing at him. The moment he saw this, Fisher finally realized that this Scarlet Mist was actually coming for him!
"Teacher... Teacher..."
That voice of Asuka Karasawa gradually blurred, as if Jasmine and Asuka's voices had mixed together, making them indistinguishable. Yet, the earnest expectation in those words couldn't be faked—the loneliness and pain of waiting for ten thousand years, and with the person she waited for now right before her eyes, just a stone's throw away. That feeling of the fire of hope being ignited but being unable to grasp it no matter what constituted the sorrow in this voice...
"Where are you going? Teacher Fisher... is ten thousand years not enough... do you want me to keep waiting?"
"..."
The spreading Scarlet Mist poured towards Fisher madly. Even though Renee in front of him had already utilized her true body, the suction force behind him still acted like a black hole, refusing to let Fisher leave no matter what.
And in order to grasp Fisher, the Scarlet Mist didn't even hesitate to barge about towards the direction of the Barrier.
This won't do. If this continues and lets it crash into the Barrier, it will be troublesome!
Fisher didn't doubt in the slightest that the fully realized Spirit World Contamination now possessed the ability to punch through the Barrier again.
If, before the Barrier was even properly repaired, another hole was created, it would truly be beyond redemption!
"Teacher Fisher... do you still like the Angel Helaire... Even after ten thousand years, do I still not compare to her?"
Listening to the murmur of doubt where Asuka Karasawa and Jasmine's voices merged amidst the scarlet contamination, Fisher finally knew who the culprit was that had allowed Jasmine and the Spirit World Contamination to fully come into contact...
The veins on Fisher's forehead bulged, and under the influence of the Scarlet Mist, the reality near the side of the Barrier was almost twisted.
Countless balloons and paper money spewed out from the void, and within that Scarlet Mist, an extremely exaggerated number of skyscrapers, up to a hundred meters tall, inverted and rushed toward the Sea of Souls.
It's close to the Crevice!
This contamination is coming for me. As long as I am devoured by the contamination, it should stop, but...
This must be Helaire's goal.
Azanroth had already informed him that the Ocean now possessed the means to completely separate the soul and property within his body. However, her four incarnations inside the Barrier shouldn't have the ability to confront several deities directly, otherwise she could have just started slaughtering directly without needing so much trouble.
In other words, as long as he stayed by the side of the gods, there was nothing she could do about him.
And now she made the Spirit World Contamination merge with Jasmine, granting it the ability to completely threaten the Barrier, which in turn presented Fisher with a choice he couldn't choose from.
If he chose to be devoured by the Spirit World Contamination and enter it, the gods wouldn't be able to protect him inside. Presumably, Helaire's incarnation was also within this contamination right now, waiting for Fisher's entry to strip away his property...
But if he didn't choose to be devoured, the Barrier would not be able to hold.
Fisher gritted his teeth and glanced at the Barrier in the distance, but out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly caught sight of the Authority that Hamon Hamon had sent in, lying horizontally in front of the Barrier...
He couldn't accommodate that Authority just yet. Given time, he certainly could, but Helaire wouldn't give him the chance; she made her move directly just one day after that Authority was sent into Reality...
However, he wasn't completely out of options...
Helaire was inside the contamination. Her incarnation was no match for the gods, and the current Situation was that the gods were also helpless against this contamination. In other words, Helaire inevitably couldn't fully control this contamination either...
There was still a chance.
Thinking of this, the veins on Fisher's forehead became highly visible. He turned his head and shouted to Renee,
"It's coming for me. It won't stop unless I go inside!"
"You can't go inside... what if the Ocean's incarnation attacks you in there? If you... if something happens to you, I will also..."
Looking at the worried Renee behind him, Fisher's eyes flickered, but he resolutely turned his head to look at the relentless contamination pursuing him.
"There's no other way now... If the Ocean intends to make a move inside, it definitely means its incarnation is also in there. The whereabouts of the four incarnations are unknown right now. Finding them, hiding in some corner of the world, would be unimaginably troublesome... But now, its incarnation is tangibly right inside."
"If I can't escape it and must plunge into this scene of fierce conflict, then its incarnation is in the same boat. This contamination is not controlled by her; I heard Asuka's voice, she is also trapped within this contamination... This might actually be an opportunity. An opportunity to eliminate both the Ocean's incarnation and the contamination at the same time."
Renee gritted her teeth, just about to open her mouth to say something, when Fisher let out a long breath and once again looked at the Authority lying across the entrance of the Barrier, as if it was a card in his hand he hadn't yet turned over.
The next second, he took the initiative to turn around and flew towards that contamination.
"Fisher!"
And behind him, the left-behind Renee's pupils shrank. Without almost any hesitation, she also turned simultaneously, following Fisher towards the scarlet contamination.
Above, Anabatos, who was already overwhelmed dealing anxiously with the pervasive scarlet contamination, caught sight of Fisher and Renee taking the initiative to head towards the scarlet contamination from the corner of its eye. A human-like exclamation almost escaped its lips,
"You guys!"
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
"Bang!"
But the next second, huge fireworks burst in front of its eyes. Upon closer inspection, its own illusory body had actually turned into fireworks because it was affected by Dream Illusion?
Isn't the power of this Dream Illusion a bit too exaggerated?
Anabatos struggled to block this colossal entity from approaching the Barrier, while Fisher below had already arrived in front of the scarlet contamination. Sensing his approach, every inch of the scarlet contamination seemed to jump for joy, opening its embrace to him.
"Teacher Fisher..."
Under the dual calls of Asuka Karasawa and Jasmine's voices, Fisher gritted his teeth and dashed straight into the contamination along with Renee behind him.
"Buzz!!"
And the instant Fisher entered the contamination, the catastrophe-like scarlet contamination suddenly quieted down.
The struggling, dodging figure of Anabatos stopped. It hastily swept its golden light down, but there was no trace of Fisher or Renee anywhere.
"Damn it!"
It mouthed wordlessly, as the Scarlet Mist before it already slowly receded, withdrawing contently towards the place it originally occupied.
And behind it at this moment, the massive body of Ramastia flew out from before the Barrier at some unknown time, looking at the receding contamination without saying a word.
"Fisher and Renee were both devoured by the contamination, great, just perfect!"
Anabatos said this to Ramastia in dissatisfaction, but Ramastia remained silent, merely looking at the scarlet contamination to indicate it understood.
"That contamination won't threaten their personal safety for the time being. Wasn't this originally within our plan... to let Jasmine and the contamination merge again, so we could completely kill it..."
Seeing its reaction, Anabatos froze slightly but still said,
"So, you deliberately let Fisher enter it, sparing the process of convincing him to kill her along with Jasmine?"
"No... he wouldn't do that. When we knew this was the only way to kill it head-on, I knew he wouldn't agree. Xuan Can and Gou Wen wouldn't agree either... For the sake of that human Empress, he was even willing to delve deep into the Authority of Death. If that's the case, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if he turned against us..."
"And so?"
"Anabatos, the true reason that contamination formed actually stems entirely from Asuka Karasawa. This is also the reason why we haven't been able to kill it all these years. To kill it, we can only kill Jasmine, which means the soul of Asuka Karasawa..."
Ramastia looked at the slowly retreating Spirit World Contamination and said softly,
"Back then, the reason Asuka Karasawa insisted on leaving this place was that she sensed the power within her body had expanded enough to influence Reality. It was only to avoid causing the death of the living beings inside the Barrier that she did so... She was a Transferred Person, and even until the very last moment, she was willing to choose death herself to preserve this world..."
"..."
"Although I only rescued her soul at the request of Gou Wen and Xuan Can, and I didn't know about the connection between her soul and the contamination... essentially, I was also thanking her. Thanking her for silently restraining the Transferred Persons, and for her contribution to this world... That she was willing to sacrifice for this world is not a justification for us to comfortably and continuously demand her sacrifice, Anabatos."
"...Sigh, how could achieving the best of both worlds be that simple?"
"Indeed, but even now, I still remember our original intention when building this world... We didn't create it as a hiding place to seek comfort, nor did we do it to experience the prestige, pros and cons, or right and wrongs of being Creator Gods. Since what lies outside the Barrier chose the former, then let us oddities choose the latter."
Anabatos remained silent before eventually saying,
"Then what should we do now? Even if we are considerate of her past sacrifices, we can't just ignore everything, right?"
"How could we, Anabatos? You forgot, I am the only God whose voice the Whale-kin can hear. This connection doesn't come from the soul, but from my other Authority that has never been revealed: 'Secret Voice'... I have been listening to Jasmine's voice all along, so I know everything she heard before being devoured by the contamination. The Ocean definitely didn't anticipate this."
"You mean..."
On Ramastia's figure, tens of thousands of faces simultaneously revealed cold expressions, and it continued,
"It was the Ocean who acted, but precisely because of this, I sensed its incarnation through Xuan Can's medium... There are a full two incarnations currently inside the contamination. One possesses True God-level strength, and the other is only at the Nineteenth-Tier... Our task is to make full preparations while this contamination persists, and intercept and kill its two incarnations here."
Anabatos had not expected this God of a Hundred Faces to have been waiting here for the Ocean to act all along. After a brief stupefaction, it hastily said,
"...I'll try to wake up Dagon. The Soul Fire in the Crevice has almost extinguished. The plan of Heon and the others also fell through, so he should be able to awaken now. But we have no way to help Fisher and Renee inside the contamination..."
"Believe in Fisher and Renee. This sort of emotional entanglement between souls is not our forte."
Anabatos also deeply agreed. Just as it prepared to leave, it suddenly thought of something, turned its head, and said rather suspiciously,
"There is one problem... That Transferred Person waited for Fisher for ten thousand years. Furthermore, I feel the formation of this contamination is probably also related to this heavy emotion. Now Renee also went in after him. Did that Ocean's incarnation also have a relationship with Fisher ten thousand years ago? I mean... what if, what if that contamination is the Transferred Person's home turf, and we have no way to interfere whatsoever. What if she gets provoked by Renee and the Ocean's incarnation, and accidentally... finishes off, oh, the Fisher we trust? What do we do then?"
"..."
?
Ramastia came back to its senses and then suddenly asked,
"Then why didn't you stop Renee when she followed him in back then?"
"You never told me your plan either! You're on the fifth level while I'm on the first; how was I supposed to comprehend it?"
"..."
Ramastia fell silent again, as if caught in a confusion born from a blind spot in its knowledge. Extensively, the expression of the countless faces on its body turned abstract and distressed...
However, after a moment, it raised its head once again and feigned composure,
"We must believe in Fisher's wisdom..."
"..."
"Mmh..."
At this moment, completely unaware of what heavy responsibility he had been tasked with, Fisher only felt an intense, aching pain all over his body, as if ten thousand Cardinals had rolled over it.
His consciousness was also hazy, and his eyelids felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, rendering him unable to open them no matter how hard he tried.
Where am I...
"Thump, thump... thump..."
Even though his eyes weren't open yet and his consciousness hadn't cleared, his other organs had already started to function.
At this moment, a rhythmic, ethereal tapping sound slowly echoed by his ears, while the tip of his nose was filled with an extremely pleasant, soothing scent of Buddhist incense...
He dazedly opened his eyes, only to find himself lying on a tatami mat abruptly. Beneath him was a soft mattress that was neither too thick nor too thin, and the rectangular quilt covering him was neatly arranged. He was lying flat on the mattress, sleeping squarely.
"I..."
Fisher quickly sat up and looked down, only to discover that he was wearing a strange white garment. The collars of the garment crossed over each other and wrapped around his waist, looking like the attire of a certain civilization... in any case, it was definitely not clothing from Naris, Schwari, Kadu, or the Northern Border...
What the hell?
He turned his head to survey his surroundings, finding himself sleeping inside a rather spacious wooden house. The style of the house was quaint, with even the doors being wooden sliding doors. Through the gaps in the window lattices, he could vaguely see the sunlight outside the window paper...
The furnishings in the room were also quaint and strange, with many books and scrolls piled up, adding a pleasant smell of ink to the room.
Fisher casually picked up a book beside him, only to see square or slanted characters written in ink—a sight that made Fisher's scalp tingle.
These were the characters Asuka Karasawa used, very similar to the ones the Demi-Human Girl Con used.
Thinking of this, Fisher hurriedly felt his chest, discovering that even the Demi-Human Completion Handbook had vanished without a trace, not to mention the other items on him...
Everything was gone.
But where exactly am I right now?
Just as Fisher swallowed hard, the silhouette of a young girl suddenly appeared on the window lattice outside the sliding wooden door facing his bed.
Fisher raised his head and looked at the door, seeing the girl's shadow gently knocking. Shortly after, an extremely abashed voice slowly came from outside,
"Teacher Fisher... are you awake? It's time to get up..."
"..."
Fisher didn't reply, but his heart skipped a beat.
Because the voice outside the door was clearly Jasmine's.