novelraw Chapter 760: Cinema
Chapter 760: Cinema
"Don't call me Demi-Human Girl Con."
Hearing the woman before him solemnly voice a reminder, Fisher opened his mouth, merely using an even more meticulous gaze to size up the woman before him.
She looked younger than himself. Transferred Persons retained their youth forever, so it could roughly be inferred she was probably around this age when she arrived in this world.
The face beneath that head of long and scattered hair looked indistinct, especially within the gloomy environment of this place at this moment. Only the light source from the large screen before them could sketch the contours of her face.
Fisher gave a helpless smile, shifting to ask,
"What kind of place is a cinema?"
"A cinema is precisely a place to watch movies."
"What is a movie?"
"A movie is precisely a thing watched in a cinema."
"...""Hahahaha..."
The Demi-Human Girl Con beside him burst into belly laughs seeing Fisher's speechless appearance. With great interest, she pinched a kernel of popcorn from the popcorn bucket and placed it before Fisher.
Fisher didn't eat it, instead asking again,
"Why would I be here? I remember... the Dream Illusion seemed to have extracted the property from within my body, and then that property seemed to..."
Fisher thought sluggishly, yet his memories seemed burdened with heavy weight, making every step of recollection exceptionally arduous.
"I merely heard that when people die, they all go to the cinema."
"What do you do going here?"
"Watch movies of course, exactly like right now, continuously watching. Act after act, showing after showing, watching movies that never repeat forever."
"So, am I dead?"
For some unknown reason, upon learning this point, Fisher abruptly felt a sense of relief in his heart, to the extent that even his sitting posture transitioned from an initially highly vigilant upright position to soft, until every inch of his back closely fit the backrest.
Holding her chin, the Demi-Human Girl Con smiled as she looked at him, asking,
"What, dying is this relaxing?"
"I don't know."
Fisher looked at the unknown movie on the screen, watching a scene where a man resembling an undercover agent within the police fired a gun and shot another undercover agent dead, after which the elevator doors closed.
He didn't understand movies from another world, so he could only bewilderedly rub the center of his brows, saying bewilderedly,
"I merely feel a little tired."
"Oh?"
"Ever since I left Naris, it seems I have constantly been without rest, like a train traveling on tracks. The passengers on the train take me to view the scenery along the way, and then disembark at a certain place. As for me, the moment of arriving at the station forever never comes."
Even though Fisher was still comforting Renee previously, instructing her not to imagine a "shore" she wished to reach, due to his prolonged rushing about, he himself also had to begin fantasizing about such a shore.
And to him, this shore was perhaps precisely the moment the World-Ending Prophecy was resolved.
Fisher wearily rubbed his face. Upon this woman beside him whom he had never met yet was exceptionally familiar, he seemingly found an opening to pour out his feelings, thus his words also increased.
And the woman beside him merely smiled as she looked at him, not uttering a single word, listening to his words like a tree hole, exactly like how she quietly listened to the confessions of the characters in the movies.
Fisher's consciousness grew a bit clearer. Leaning against the cinema chair, he glanced at the Demi-Human Girl Con beside him, asking her,
"So, you have constantly been alive all along, hiding inside the Demi-Human Girl Completion Handbook, guiding and monitoring my every movement and action, all so I would follow the path you planned to resolve the World-Ending Prophecy?"
Hearing Fisher's query, the Demi-Human Girl Con conversely revealed a look of confusion. Pointing at herself, she asked Fisher,
"Huh, what did I do to give you the illusion that I am such a noble person?"
Fisher froze slightly, "...Are you not?"
"Hahahahahaha..."
The Demi-Human Girl Con laughed loudly once more. Rubbing the corners of her eyes, she teasingly said,
"It looks like distance truly generates beauty, to unexpectedly make you, whom I have never met before, think of me like this... Sigh, but it seems this is pretty good too."
"...But if my guess is not wrong, this place should precisely be the interior of the Demi-Human Girl Completion Handbook, right?"
"Oh? How do you figure?"
Fisher pointed at the side exit of that cinema. The Demi-Human Girl Con turned her head to look, only to see that the green sign above the exit which originally read "Exit" now read "Dragon-kin", as conspicuous as the research names on the Demi-Human Girl Completion Handbook.
"...Smart."
"So, it's time to properly explain, right."
Holding her chin, the Demi-Human Girl Con gave a slight wave of her hand, and the movie on that screen came to an abrupt end. At this moment, the lighting in the entire screening room also suddenly brightened, revealing the figures of the two of them sitting all alone within the entirety of the massive screening room.
The Demi-Human Girl Con looked at the Fisher before her, speaking to him softly,
"As you can see, this place is indeed the interior of the Demi-Human Girl Completion Handbook... But you indeed guessed wrong. Did you think I hid away, using my consciousness to hide inside the Demi-Human Girl Completion Handbook, manipulating you to walk the path of saving the world up until today?"
"Is that not the case?"
"Hah, of course not..."
The Demi-Human Girl Con sat with great interest, looking at the Fisher before her and extending a finger,
"Let me ask you, if you came to my world, were trapped there, and treated as an enemy by all nations and factions there. Staying there for a few millennia, although you indeed met many people worth remembering midway, most of them died of old age amidst the long years... At this time, my world was about to be destroyed. Would you be willing to sacrifice your everything to save my world?"
"..."
Fisher didn't answer, but the Demi-Human Girl Con seemingly already knew the answer. She said teasingly,
"Yes, you would hesitate, would deliberate, but a rat wouldn't. A rat would only think of escaping, playing it safe to protect itself. I was merely a sufficiently lucky rat who, by a freak combination of factors, obtained Azanroth's blessing, and by a freak combination of factors, perceived the truth of the World-Ending Prophecy...
"When I learned of the deities' history, and learned from Azanroth that apart from that group of Outer Gods headed by the Dream Illusion, there was also a terrifying Reaper eyeing this world, I realized that the cause of everything likely stemmed from the Sea of Souls They took away back then, believing it to be ownerless. I told this matter to Ramastia, but for a very long time, I never found that so-called 'Ocean's Treasure'."
The Demi-Human Girl Con gave a faint smile, drawing an analogy for Fisher,
"Like an unverifiable physics formula, scientists know there is such a profoundly mysterious law governing the reality they see, yet are consistently unable to find the theorem explaining it. Furthermore, even in the most extreme case, even if found, what use would it be? It's not like I was some overpowered protagonist, I couldn't do anything...
"Moreover, because I discovered the Ocean's little secret, She also noticed my and Azanroth's existences, thereby launching an encirclement and suppression campaign against me... I truly had it miserable. Before even doing anything, I ended up getting covered in trouble."
Fisher didn't say a word. He suddenly recalled the Demi-Human Girl Con's basement he saw underneath Saint-Nazareth at that time; there were traces of her having suffered miserable torture there.
"I didn't want to do anything, nor could I do anything. I previously fantasized making a move at will, and then effortlessly saving this world. Making the deities prostrate in worship, making the Ocean exclaim 'This child is terrifying to such an extent'... But the reality was, this world didn't revolve according to my fantasies."
Smiling, the Demi-Human Girl Con used her long robes to cover her legs. After that, she hugged her knees, sitting curled up on the soft chair, looking truly like a plump and fluffy rat.
She gave a disappointing chuckle, turning her head to look at Fisher, boasting shamelessly,
"So, I directly gave up."
"..."
"But, you know, things like humans are very conflicted. I believed myself not to possess such great divine abilities to save the world, yet subconsciously couldn't let go of the torment of morality. I could have run away long ago, but having stayed precisely this long after all, I was consistently unable to make up my mind to leave.
"For every additional day I lived in this world, for every additional living person I met who greeted you, I couldn't help but think, 'Aiya, in not too long they will all be completely dead', how cruel."
Having finished speaking, she once again turned her head to look at Fisher, smilingly saying,
"And the last person I met within that world was named Teresa, and it was also her who ultimately changed my mind, making me try one final time."
Hearing a familiar name, Fisher's eye pupils slightly contracted. And the Demi-Human Girl Con merely waved her hand, and the first-person perspective of a person appeared on the large screen before them.
Entering one's vision was the incomparably brilliant Sea of Souls, and the protagonist seemed to be arduously walking within it. Subsequently, she seemingly discovered something, thus lying prone on the ground, carefully using both hands to excavate something within it.
"Haha..."
Fisher heard the panting sounds of the Demi-Human Girl Con, saw her use both hands to arduously pry open the extremely deep Sea of Souls, saw countless babbling little Chaos-kin climb onto her body, covering her to stop her from continuing to excavate.
But ultimately, she still managed to dig it out. A streak of bright light abruptly pierced through the thick Sea of Souls, making the Demi-Human Girl Con's excavation a bit more forceful.
Until finally, panting, she finally saw the main entity buried deep within the Sea of Souls.
She saw a soul wrapping a certain object emitting bright light.
She found it, that precious property.
And for some unknown reason, when the Demi-Human Girl Con dug out that property wrapped by the soul, all the rest of the little Chaos-kin seemingly suffered a scare, fleeing toward all directions.
The Demi-Human Girl Con and the Fisher before her whose face was full of astonishment simultaneously raised their heads to look at the scene within that screen. The Demi-Human Girl Con merely smiled as she said,
"Tell me, is it not dictated by destiny? That thing I and the deities searched for so long yet failed to find over thousands of years, which sounded like an unwarranted fabrication, was unexpectedly found during my final search."
Fisher didn't reply, merely frowning as he looked at that fragile soul within the screen.
That was precisely Fisher's soul.
Fisher couldn't help but ask,
"So, you formulated a plan revolving around me to resolve the World-Ending Prophecy, correct?"
"That's why I say, you thought of me far too nobly," the Demi-Human Girl Con chuckled mischievously. Pointing a finger at Fisher, she subsequently said, "Upon seeing you, my first thought was, 'Since the property happens to be inside a soul, then let him substitute this property. The Ocean thirsts for the property to oppose Her, which should make things very difficult for Her right?'; while my second thought was, 'Finally threw off the responsibility, hehe'..."
"..."
Fisher was rendered speechless once again. He lowered his head and sighed, rubbing the center of his brows, finally knowing what that repentance of the Demi-Human Girl Con atop the Sea of Souls he saw in his dream back then was all about.
"To be ashamed to say, I merely wanted to fill the guilt in my heart, which is why I brought you out of the Sea of Souls. Whether you hate me for bringing all this upon you, or thank me for allowing you to be born, it doesn't matter anymore, because regardless of what you think, I can no longer convey your thoughts for you."
"What do you mean?"
"It means that, 'I', or rather 'she', has already run away."
Fisher froze slightly, turning his head to look at the Demi-Human Girl Con beside him, only to see her still maintaining a smiling appearance. For some unknown reason, looking at that incredibly punchable smile made Fisher want to punch her.
But thankfully, Fisher still possessed his self-restraint. He didn't make a move, instead choosing to finish listening to her words.
"As you can see, she converted her research on the World-Ending Prophecy into a more easily understandable version that she believed could give you more motivation, and thoughtfully stored her entire inventory left in this world inside the Demi-Human Girl Completion Handbook, and built an artificial intelligence, namely me, inside it to assist you in saving this world. Therefore strictly speaking, you should call me the [Demi-Human Girl Completion Handbook].
"I was actually by your side before you came of age, but consistently used Secrecy to hide myself. Even being intimately close to you, you couldn't discover my existence. You knew me from the time you were born, so when Secrecy was lifted, I, the Demi-Human Girl Completion Handbook, would enter your vision through reasonable means. At that time, what you actually bought from that merchant was the 'Ethics Collection', but Secrecy concealed your memories, making you mistakenly believe what you brought back from there was me."
After hearing all this, Fisher couldn't help but feel somewhat bewildered. He asked,
"In other words, those items I obtained..."
"Were all found from the inventory on the spot and then tossed to you."
"Then the Ranks I elevated?"
"Were originally your Ranks."
"Then the Reproduction Ability I elevated?"
"Oh, at night when you were asleep I injected you with tonic medicine from the inventory..."
"...Your mom."
Even with Fisher's self-restraint, he couldn't help but cuss.
No, this was too brazen and shameless. Adding it up, there was really a backstage operator behind this Demi-Human Girl Completion Handbook continuously tossing things to him in real time.
"That's not right. Then if it's like this, why didn't you just simply give me these things from the beginning?"
"Mm... but if it was like this, could it still be called a 'system'?"
"What is a system?"
"My program, don't mind it."
The Demi-Human Girl Con gave an incredibly punchable smile, causing the veins on Fisher's forehead to bulge upon seeing it.
But Fisher still very quickly realized something was wrong. He rubbed the center of his brows, confusedly saying,
"But... no, if it's like this, how are there so many coincidences along the way? Even if the enhancements at the Wutong Tree could be seen as enhancements you gave because you thought a major battle was imminent for me, but if you arranged nothing, how could you have handed the Tear of the World Tree to me before I went to the past?"
"Regardless of whether you believe it or not, the Tear was a reward randomly drawn and issued to you. Moreover, the one who sent you back to the past was Renee, not her. She and Renee have never ever met, could Renee also be under her arrangements?"
Smiling, the Demi-Human Girl Con extended her hand, telling Fisher,
"Moreover, a profoundly mysterious thing like timelines is something she can't play with. If it must be said what she did, the sole thing she did was send you to the side of that person who once brought her warmth, Sister Teresa's side. She experienced the beauty of this world from Teresa, she believed you could also experience the beauty of this world, experience the meaning of its existence, thereby letting you self-determine whether it had the necessity to exist.
"While the sole thing I did was to ensure you could feel happier on the journey of resolving the destruction, so I added quite a bit of Reproduction Ability for you. This matter relies on me. Rather than doubting my under the table manipulation, better to doubt the Ocean. After all, She can see me. From the first glance you saw me when you came of age, She simultaneously noticed you too."
After so long, Fisher finally obtained permission from the Demi-Human Girl Completion Handbook—permission to say that the reason he had so many demi-human ladies beside him was all because of the Demi-Human Girl Completion Handbook.
Solely because of this, the resentment filled to the brim in Fisher's heart perhaps dissipated quite a bit.
Yet he still couldn't figure out, if the Demi-Human Girl Con didn't primarily send him back, then could it mean him returning to the past and encountering Helaire was truly a coincidence?
Just how exactly do timelines operate?
Carefully recalling, Fisher's originally perceived logic was that the Demi-Human Girl Con created him to wrap the Ocean's precious property, and then sent him back to attract the Ocean's gaze, making the Ocean have no choice but to act according to the Demi-Human Girl Con's timeline, so as to avoid tampering with the timeline and rendering him unable to return...
So, this matter of him returning was very important to the Ocean, or rather, this timeline where he could return was very important to the Ocean?
But what could his return decide, to the extent of making this timeline so important, driving the Ocean to be unable to violate this timeline, unable to make a move to kill the Demi-Human Girl Con...
Apart from letting Helaire know him in advance upon returning, did he do any other important things?
Fisher truly couldn't figure out where the logic inside lay, having no choice but to helplessly withdraw his thoughts, placing his gaze back onto the large screen before him.
"Right now, what's going on outside?"
"Right now?" The Demi-Human Girl Con... no, the Demi-Human Girl Completion Handbook pondered for a moment, subsequently saying, "The Dream Illusion extracted the property within your body. Not a single person knew such a situation would occur when the property within your body left the wrapping of the soul... Its swallowing radius is expanding at an acceleration of three kilometers per second. If this continues, in less than a day, this world along with the Barrier will be swallowed by it."
"...But I'm still alive."
"Who knows why. It requires a soul to wrap it, perhaps it has attenuation toward devouring souls."
The screen before the Demi-Human Girl Completion Handbook lit up, displaying the scene of Raphaela and the others battling the Ocean's avatar within the Demon Dynasty,
"The Dream Illusion is already dead, and those two avatars of the Ocean also died in the aftermath... Ramastia and the others are still alive, having brought Renee to hide at the edge of the Spirit World. A massive uproar has also occurred in Reality. Your Raphaela, Valentiina, Alajina and Tao Gong and the others are still battling another avatar of the Ocean. But right now that most powerful avatar is already dead, that avatar cannot resurrect, and will also die very soon.
"While the most crucial problem right now doesn't lie with the Ocean either, but outside the Barrier. Many deities have gathered there. The number of deities in this galaxy is so many you can hardly imagine. Right now, dozens have already gathered outside, there should be even more deities currently on the way..."
The scene on the screen shifted, exhibiting the terrifying scene akin to a frozen frame at the Ultimate right now to Fisher,
Only to see that outside the Barrier, countless foreign deities approaching due to the massive commotion here were racking their brains trying to enter the Barrier, wanting to investigate what exactly was going on inside.
Even if the Dream Illusion had already vanished, and a large half of Her Authorities had vanished as well, it was still sufficient to mend the Barrier.
But right now, Fisher completely had the will but lacked the strength. Furthermore there were still so many deities gathered outside the Barrier imminently about to tear apart the Ultimate and enter this world...
"...No... there's still a way..."
Fisher remained silent for a moment. Lowering his head, he abruptly said somewhat wearily,
"As long as the property is sent out of the Barrier, and then let Them fight over it, like this utilizing the Dream Illusion's remaining Authorities as well as... Ramastia and the others' Authorities is also sufficient to restore the Barrier. This way, They cannot enter the Barrier, let Them go contest over my property, until the Ocean comes over to wrap things up... But..."
As he spoke, Fisher's complexion darkened anew.
He struggled bitterly, pondering, yet still found it hard to ignore that terrifying fact,
"But... the Ocean still has another avatar inside the Barrier, that avatar, which has never shown itself before. As long as She is here, even if the Barrier is sealed, the destruction still wouldn't end. If it is like this, we can only pray She won't destroy the Barrier again, handing our fate entirely over to Her..."
"...Fisher, you have already reached your limit. Perhaps arriving at this moment, this result is the best result we can accept."
Fisher kept his head lowered, arduously using both hands to prop up his knees. He shook his head and said,
"No... I have a premonition, all this will not happen according to our expectations. She won't let things rest; She will inevitably destroy this world... I don't know why, why She hates this world so much... Perhaps it's because of the crime of thievery committed by Ramastia and the others... Perhaps it's because we are all insignificantly tiny ants, trampled to death, that's just trampled to death..."
Looking at Fisher with his head lowered before her, the Demi-Human Girl Completion Handbook couldn't help but reach out to rub his head. Taking it as a substitute—a substitute for that irresponsible Transferred Person who threw this heavy responsibility onto him merely to seek peace of mind herself—to comfort him.
Walking to this point, Fisher was consistently doing his utmost to protect others, yet right until the final moment, no one had ever come to protect him.
Because of love, he consistently felt indebted, so even if Elizabeth did this much, he couldn't bear to blame her; because of love, he constantly had to be strong, had to stand before those ladies who needed help, even though he wasn't omnipotent either...
Walking along the way, only Eimhart and the Demi-Human Girl Completion Handbook knew the hardships he experienced.
She embraced Fisher into her arms. Her long black hair fell onto Fisher's side cheek that was on the verge of shedding tears. She ultimately said softly,
"Hey, although it's somewhat inappropriate for me to say these words, but along the way you have been realizing others' wishes, yet your own wish has never been fulfilled... Just take it as, for your own sake, don't be excessively demanding and torture yourself. I possess her appearance, memories, and thoughts, thereby knowing what kind of responsibility she tossed to you...
"Relax, Fisher... just take it as, satisfying yourself once, letting yourself off the hook once, okay?"
Fisher leaned against her shoulder, unmoving for a long time, merely snuggling like so. He gave an imperceptibly slight nod.
On the large screen beside them, it revealed the scene of Raphaela and Valentiina gradually killing the Ocean's avatar within Paimon's Palace. It transmitted the voices of Raphaela and Valentiina, making him think of the beauty of encountering them at that time...
He closed his eyes, yet heard a "creak creak" sound anew.
He cast a sidelong glance toward that unfamiliar Paimon's Palace, seeing that completely empty baby stroller standing exactly in the center of the palace.
"Alright, right now I'm going to mend your soul. Wait until you wake up, traverse this final stretch of road with a clear mind and free of burdens. Regardless of the result, no one will blame you..."
"Will we... meet again?"
Fisher lowered his head, asking like so.
"Hah, are you asking me, or her?"
Fisher raised his eyes, looking at the disheveled woman before him. He momentarily couldn't voice an answer, yet felt the woman before him was bit by bit becoming illusory, together with the entire cinema beginning to disintegrate.
"Alright, before formally beginning you still have time, have a good rest, just take it as watching a movie."
"Mm..."
Fisher quietly turned his head back, sitting in the chair, looking at the screen before him, observing the slightly swaying baby stroller on the screen. While the Demi-Human Girl Completion Handbook beside him had vanished without a trace at some unknown time.
Therefore, within the massive cinema, he was left all alone.
The corners of his eyes bore tear stains, yet he expressionlessly looked at the large screen before him. Echoing within his mind was the warmth from just now, carefully collecting his messy and jumbled thoughts.
For a long while, he sighed a breath, lowering his head to smile self-mockingly,
"Just take it as... satisfying myself once..."
Yet as he smiled and smiled, his smile gradually faded, and his eye pupils also widened bit by bit...
As if, he suddenly thought of something.
Why did he subconsciously believe the Ocean definitely wouldn't let things rest, definitely would settle accounts with this world?
Could the reason be that the Ocean hated this world to such an extent, hated the souls of this world?
Unless, the goal the Ocean wanted to achieve had yet to be satisfied...
Fisher's eyes suddenly widened wide, raising his eyes to look at the scene within the screen before him.
That was Paimon's Palace situated in the deepest part of the Demon Dynasty, and placed within that palace, was a completely empty baby stroller.
He blinked, and the surrounding cinema had already begun shattering, until thoroughly vanishing without a trace.
Yet Fisher's thoughts continuously changed, as if the Demi-Human Girl Completion Handbook also sensed his thoughts. After the cinema vanished without a trace, what appeared before his eyes, was precisely Paimon's Palace situated in the depths of the Demon Dynasty.
That mirror-like main door was tightly shut, floating upon it was a riddle resembling Helaire. She said,
"I am the 'I' of me, I am the 'think' of thinking."
"I am the unlistenable song, I am the unperceivable eye."
"May I ask, what am I?"
Looking at that riddle, Fisher remained motionless, while beside him, two different images appeared simultaneously: past Fisher, Eliog and Cidi, as well as Raphaela and Tao Gong and her group.
Fisher saw the past Cidi and Eliog and him state the answer,
"Soul."
After that, they walked forward, entering the mirror-like main door that had persistently never opened before.
Fisher saw Raphaela and Tao Gong and her group standing before this main door, lightly opening their mouths to state another answer,
"Ocean."
After that, they walked forward, entering the mirror-like main door that had persistently never opened before.
Before that seemingly eternally unchanging main door, at this moment it seemed as though only Fisher alone remained.
Fisher raised his eyes, looking at that closed main door before him. Abruptly as if having thought something through, he lowered his head.
Subsequently, he gave another answer; he said,
"Fisher."
The entire world seemed to quiet down, yet this time, that seemingly perpetually unmoving, mirror-like main door seemingly tremblingly opened for the first time...
"Crack, crack, crack, crack!"
Revealed leaking from the gap of that opened door panel, was light brighter than stars, warmer than the sun.
That light struck Fisher's face, making his eyes widen wide, just looking like so, looking at the main door before him, until that light thoroughly swallowed him up, until it shrouded his everything.
"..."
In the next moment, within the Spirit World, Fisher floating in the void of the Spirit World violently opened his eyes.
(End of Chapter)