Chapter 305: 80. The True Haldor
At the top of the Moon Rabbit Tribe’s hall, Fisher stood against the howling wind, his clothes flapping wildly. The magical circuits on his body became uncontrollably bright upon seeing the being before him. Unlike Ilos, who had no knowledge of magic and soul theory, Fisher clearly gained more information from it.
Firstly, the essence of this curse was neither in the real world nor in the crevice between the spirit realm and the real world; it existed within the spirit realm itself. The eyes of the chaos race were in the same space yet seemed worlds apart, making Fisher feel a strange curiosity about the spirit realm that completely enveloped the real world.
However, the pressing question was that, up until now, Fisher had never faced an entity from the spirit realm, let alone find a way to deal with the cursed being hidden within it.
What was this thing? Why did it harbor such apparent murderous intent toward the Moon Rabbit Tribe? Why was there a similar curse on the exquisite ice scroll sent from the Northern Region by a member of the Phoenix Race?
No matter the conclusion, the only thing Fisher could be sure of was that the curse before him was intricately related to the long-vanished Phoenix Race.
“Howl!”
On the first floor of the hall, Balzak and Ilos wisely stepped into the cage of the curse. As the last breath of the Moon Rabbit Tribe’s direct descendant faded, the cursed entity before Fisher let out an enraged howl, the formless sound waves penetrating Fisher’s mind like a frenzied storm from the Northern Region, causing his body to itch.
But he was different from ordinary people; his soul’s strength was higher, so he did not grow the dirty, tainted feathers that surrounded others.
However, as the curse was once again strengthened, the members of the Turan Family, who had temporarily avoided disaster due to Fisher’s soul magic, faced danger once more. Accompanied by the cold, piercing moonlight, both the Moon Rabbit Tribe’s Felis and the ordinary people outside the hall began to wail, blood seeping from their skin, as black feathers sprouted furiously.
Only Valentina, sitting in a wheelchair, remained unharmed. She looked back, slightly taken aback, at Felis and the others in pain behind her, clearly puzzled as to why she was unaffected.
She lowered her gaze to her brightening magical circuits, then gritted her teeth and reached for the Moon Princess sword hidden in the wooden box.
At the moment Valentina’s fingers touched the Moon Princess sword, the moonlight above was drawn by some invisible force, transforming into blades of moonlight that swirled and sliced through the air. The ripples they created were the crevices between the real world and the spirit realm, and only such an attack could influence the magic that could shift the world’s resonance.
The curse hidden within the spirit realm had a negligible effect, yet it was still visibly harmed by the Moon Princess’ blades.
“Buzz!”
The sound of the moonlight’s roar drew near, while the cursed entity, which had remained blinded with its eyes crashing in agitation, seemed to sense a familiar aura. Its lifeless eyes turned in unison, nearly recklessly gazing toward the door.
“Howl!”
A terrifying aura expanding beyond the previous chase of the Moon Rabbit Tribe arose suddenly. It was a greed and desire that could not be alleviated even by the pain caused by the Moonlight Blade slicing its body. Its utterances in the ancient Northern Region language became extremely clear, nearly piercing the spirit realm with its shrieks, allowing Fisher and the slowly approaching Haldor to hear it clearly.
“Moon Princess! Moon Princess! It’s you! The last Phoenix! Come quickly! Join us again, for the minuscule possibility, for the future of the Phoenix Race!”
The curse suddenly shrank, momentarily targeting Valentina, who held the Moon Princess sword at the door, while the pain of the others abruptly halted. Only Valentina felt a chill down her back, as if she were being watched by some strange and terrifying presence.
“Fisher, we must stop that thing from harming Valentina! She cannot be in danger, I beg you!”
Haldor, standing nearby, interrupted Fisher, who momentarily froze at the clarity of the cursed entity’s words. He seemed to have heard something he could latch onto from its utterance, tightly linking it to the dream that had immersed him due to the Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans.
He recalled seeing a massive throne in a dream where he met Renee, shrouded in a shadowy figure that was whispering about “the last Phoenix,” and now he had gleaned two effective pieces of information from that utterance.
Firstly, the curse before him was closely related to the existence on the throne he saw in his dream, and according to Fisher’s speculation, the throne was located within the legendary Frost Parasol Tree, linked to the mysterious disappearance of the Phoenix Race.
Secondly, the being on that throne sought the last Phoenix to achieve some goal, and the so-called last Phoenix was the Moon Princess, one of the three Children of the Phoenix of the Phoenix King.
Fisher quickly buried the information deep inside his heart; this was not the time for pondering the secrets behind the Frost Parasol Tree. The curse was now targeting his nominal boss, Valentina, likely mistaking her because she wielded the Moon Princess sword. Blaming this crazed cursed entity for making a mistake was utterly absurd; he had to devise a way to address the problem.
His expression darkened, and suddenly transparent threads sprang forth from the ring on his hand. Their existence in the spirit realm could not be touched by anything except magic and the Moon Princess sword; even Fisher’s ninth-tier physical quality could not harm it.
“Come here!”
The Spinner twisted and wrapped firmly around the invisible cursed entity, temporarily halting its advance, but odd waves began to surge along with the Spinner, making Fisher’s palms itch; black spots resembling feathers began to sprout on him.
Under the moonlight, those tiny mocking eyes hidden in the starry spirit realm appeared to observe the unfolding scene below with intrigue. The Moon Rabbit Tribe’s hall was decorated like an ancient duel arena by the teasing stars, but unfortunately, they couldn’t toss gold coins to reward the gladiators fighting with all their might below.
“Howl!”
The feathers on Fisher’s hands multiplied rapidly, nearly resembling those of the Cangniao Tribe’s Aoxi. At this critical moment, a pair of crystalline blue mechanical arms firmly grasped the Spinner in Fisher’s hand, once again halting the cursed entity’s offensive.
This brief respite allowed Fisher to glance at Haldor beside him. He immediately noticed the light from Haldor’s mechanism was becoming dimmer, while the soul light, akin to that of Southern Continent’s Feilon, was exceedingly bright.
However, unlike the situation in Feilon City, this time the master of the soul chose to burn himself.
With just a glance, Fisher understood Haldor’s situation, especially knowing that the burning soul within him was willingly contributed by himself. Fisher then fell into an even deeper silence, while Haldor glanced at Fisher, a tacit understanding leading him to spout a mouthful of hot steam.
The two mages, who had known each other for a short time and were seemingly entangled by the Spinner they held, found all the words they wished to say hung unspoken between them, and thus they both turned their attention to the approaching curse.
Fisher deeply understood that what Haldor wanted to do at that moment was to protect Valentina and help her retrieve the Moon Rabbit Tribe mark. All he could do was assist him.
So, he shouted to Valentina in the distance,
“Stop using the Moon Princess sword! It will anger the curse!”
In the distance, Valentina, who had just placed her pale fingers on the Moon Princess sword, slightly retracted her hand, staring in disbelief at the “air” in the mid-air of the hall that was entangled by the Spinner. She could not see the curse but understood that something was fixated on her.
Upon seeing Valentina obeying his command, Fisher still could not relax. He hurriedly turned to Haldor beside him and said quickly,
“The essence of the curse is in the spirit realm; we can’t let it get near Valentina, or she’ll be devoured in an instant. That voice we heard from earlier, we must keep it away from her.”
After hearing Fisher’s words, Haldor hesitated momentarily, as if he knew something—whether about Valentina or the curse’s utterances—but at that moment, he could accurately state the reason the curse was targeting Valentina.
“Zizi. I will temporarily take the Moon Princess from Valentina to attract the curse’s attention, but the Moon Princess can only be used by Valentina, and after leaving her, it will soon turn into scrap metal. At that time, I don’t know what will happen to the curse; we best deal with it first.”
Fisher furrowed his brow but followed up on Haldor’s words, saying,
“Existence in the spirit realm can only be resolved with magic. We are mages, best at this, aren’t we?”
The faceless mechanical mask of Haldor paused slightly, then shook his head while letting out steam, smiling at Fisher,
“Zizi. You’re right; I haven’t accomplished anything worth mentioning in my life. I probably won’t get to witness the grandeur of the Frost Parasol Tree with Mr. Fisher, but at the very least, there are two things that can’t be called dust-covered in my life: teaching Valentina and being a mage.”
Time was running short, but Fisher remained unusual and silent, showing no signs of urging; he simply listened to the words of the old mage before him. The following sentence gradually infused his usual monotonous voice with humanity, as if the flaming soul colored its background.
“I suddenly remembered many things and also realized that the true Haldor Turan has long since died. What exists within this iron frame that cannot be called human is merely his unwillingness to part with Valentina. But I believe both he and my true self do not regret the decisions we made. In this sense, even if I am a poor imitation, I can still request Mr. Fisher to help Valentina find the Frost Parasol Tree.”
The feathers in Fisher’s hand continued to grow, but he suddenly tightened his grip on the Spinner, pulling it onto his shoulder while avoiding the increasingly blurred soul colors under the moonlight. He simply said,
“You are the true Haldor Turan.”
The temperature of the steam spouted from Haldor’s mouth grew cold, and he also looked toward the invisible curse, not responding to Fisher but rather pointing his finger toward the camp outside.
“Zizi. Mr. Fisher, there’s a high-tier magic I prepared in the camp, a full eleven tiers high, named [Elimination Light] with [Destruction] as its ring head, located inside the carriage. It is my trump card for Valentina. We will act separately; I will grab the Moon Princess sword from Valentina to distract the curse while you fetch the high-tier magic I’ve prepared to eliminate that curse in one fell swoop.”
Fisher nodded without hesitation. Bathed in the clear moonlight outside, he spoke,
“Alright, take care.”
“Zizi. Take care, Mr. Fisher Benavides.”
In the next moment, Haldor suddenly released the Spinner from his grasp, and the pressure on the cursed entity loosened slightly. However, it was still firmly held in place by Fisher. Valentina was clever; although she did not know why using the Moon Princess would anger the curse, she roughly understood that the curse could only be harmed by items like the Moon Princess and magic.
Her ring still contained several high-tier spells, and in this moment, she exerted herself to awaken each one, prying open the world’s resonance.
Six-tier magic, [Light feather arrow] with [Light] as its ring head.
Seven-tier magic, [Tree-shaped lightning] with [Thunder] as its ring head.
Two resounding and dazzling beams burst forth from Valentina’s hand on the wheelchair, swiftly directing toward the center of the hall. First, there were brilliant laser arrows resembling feathers, followed closely by flashing and twisting bolts of lightning that slammed directly into the invisible cursed body.
“Howl!”
The waves of the world’s resonance grew increasingly intense, and those chaos races with mocking expressions were increasingly obvious. They lowered their gazes, fixating on the bizarre curse, which became extremely agitated from the damage it had received.
The curse’s ability was actually quite singular, yet its peculiar conduction method rendered it troublesome; at this moment, it took the two middle-tier spells from Valentina without feeling much pain or burden, probably equivalent to about ten tiers based on the rank.
“Watch out! Boss!”
With the intense surge of the world’s resonance, the cursed howling transcended the boundaries between the spirit realm and the real world, manifesting as shockwaves visible to the naked eye. Valentina, seated in her wheelchair, had nowhere to escape, yet Felis behind her acted swiftly to grasp her wheelchair and pull her back far enough to evade the destructive blow.
But Valentina’s attack was not without effect; while the curse howled in fury, Haldor, with his mechanical body, descended disregarding all else, emitting noise from the friction against the stone floor as he dashed toward Valentina.
“Heldor.”
“Zizi. Valentina, quickly hand me the Moon Princess sword; this will bring you danger. I will draw the curse’s attention; you should hide in the cage of the curse with Fisher and let us handle everything. Felis, keep an eye on Valentina.”
Valentina did not immediately pass the Moon Princess to Haldor. She simply looked up at the mechanical figure before her, feeling a sense of familiarity in its voice, as if the compassionate elder Haldor from before her body transformation appeared before her again.
It should have been a moment of joy, yet upon seeing the diminishing blue light emanating from him, Valentina found it hard to speak. She seemed to realize something, wanting to express something, but words failed her. She froze momentarily and after several seconds, handed over the wooden box containing the Moon Princess sword to Haldor.
“The Moon Princess sword will lose its essence shortly after leaving me. I wonder if the curse will dissipate by then, Haldor. You should ask Fisher to join us in the cage of the curse.”
“Zizi. Valentina, the cage of the curse can only fit four of you at most; neither Fisher nor I can enter. Furthermore, there are many people outside who serve the Turan Family; I would not want them to lose their lives for this. I have discussed a strategy with Fisher, so rest assured that by the time Valentina emerges from the cage of the curse, everything will be over.”
Haldor spoke softly as if coaxing a young Valentina to sleep, standing gently while holding the wooden box. He turned to look at the man from Nali, firmly gripping the Spinner at the top of the hall. In the darkness, his figure was tall, bright like moonlight yet not cold. Haldor thus turned his head, and said one last thing to Valentina.
“Zizi. Valentina, Fisher Benavides can be trusted to seek out the Frost Parasol Tree. His assistance is indispensable.”
Valentina tightened her grip on her ring and did not nod, simply saying,
“I understand.”
“Zizi. That’s good. I’m off. Felis, take Valentina to the cage of the curse. Everyone outside, evacuate! The farther from here, the better!”
Haldor raised the wooden box in his hand, signaling to the cursed entity behind him and to Fisher above, and then charged out into the snowy ground outside, exactly opposite the fleeing members of the Turan Family.
At the same time, Fisher released his grip on the Spinner, and the frenzied cursed entity dove into the icy wilderness of the Northern Region like a stampeding wild horse, as Fisher jumped from the top floor, briefly meeting Valentina, who was slowly heading to the cage of the curse. They exchanged no words, and a second later, Fisher sprinted alone toward the carriage.
“Howl!”
The howling outside grew louder, and Valentina’s fingers gripping the wheelchair’s armrest grew cold and pale, her chest emitting white breath that became increasingly irregular.
“Ha ha.”
“Hey! Boss, are you okay? Not feeling well?”
“Nothing, take me to the cage of the curse.”
“Oh, okay.”
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(End of Chapter)
