Chapter 500: 117. Matilda
Fisher and the floating Hela quickly headed towards the stone tower at the center of the Ideal Nation. The thick fog outside the Ideal Nation was swirling through the air, revealing the shimmering wilderness beyond.
Lines of twisting “∞” symbols constantly flashed in Fisher’s eyes, and in an instant, he arrived before the stone tower.
He indeed had a foreboding feeling, especially when he saw the elf Chuan guarding beneath the stone tower, quietly watching Fisher and Hela approach.
Fisher’s footsteps halted, and Chuan also turned to look at him, saying,
“Mr. Fisher, my siblings are about to arrive. You have entered the myth, so please help me temporarily delay them.”
“…Where is Tang Zeming?”
Chuan turned to look at the stone tower, where a golden light occasionally flickered at the top, and then he said,
“She and Margaret are controlling the mechanism at the top of the tower. Their progress will be swift. As long as the loom is successfully mastered and linked to the Death here, we— the Ideal Nation— can survive from my kin.”
Chuan’s gaze was earnest, and his request for Fisher’s help was sincere, which diminished Fisher’s earlier doubts about him and Margaret attacking him.
In his eyes, Chuan was indeed a genuine good elf.
However, at this moment, while nodding, Fisher still cautiously asked,
“I understand, we will help you… but before that, I have something I want to say to Tang Zeming. I want to go up and see her.”
“…The situation is urgent. If you go up now, it may disturb her and Margaret’s progress with the loom. Can’t you wait? We can’t afford any mistakes at this moment.”
“Is this Margaret’s order?”
“Yes.”
“……”
The feeling in Fisher’s heart grew increasingly clear. He looked up at the golden light emanating above and sighed, saying,
“Sorry, this matter is important. I must go up.”
Upon hearing this, a visibly annoyed expression finally appeared on Chuan’s elegant face. He glanced at the looming storm outside and questioned Fisher,
“Fisher, why do you insist on doing this at such a critical moment? The Ideal Nation is on the brink of life and death, and you are reluctant to believe me and Margaret? At such a pressing time, why act so recklessly? Don’t you want tears to fall?”
“…I trust you, but I don’t trust Margaret.”
“She regards Tang Zeming as her daughter! For the four days you were gone, they have been together day and night. If she really wanted to do something to Tang Zeming, she would have done it already!”
It seemed that communication was no longer possible.
Seeing Fisher fall silent, Chuan clicked his tongue in frustration and then said,
“I won’t let you in. You have just entered the mythical rank; you are no match for me. Don’t make a futile attempt.”
“……”
Fisher did not speak; he merely glanced at the “man” behind him who was smiling in Chuan’s eyes. The next moment, to his astonishment, the figure of “Cain” flickered with a warm light like dawn, and in the next instant, her true form, crowned and with ethereal wings, was revealed.
Although the crown on her head was different from the traditional angelic halo, Chuan still recognized at a glance that this person was a genuine angel!
“How is this possible? Margaret clearly checked them with the loom. How did she get in here?”
Fisher twisted his neck and implored Chuan,
“Chuan, conserve your strength. The elves will be here soon. I just want to see Tang Zeming; I won’t disturb their progress.”
“You already disturbed them when you went up. I won’t let you do this.”
Fisher ceased his verbal protest. The moment his soul power glowed, the surrounding rules began to shatter bit by bit. Upon sensing the dangerous chaotic power, numerous stout ancient trees with purple flowers suddenly sprouted around Chuan.
Those trees, like arms, shot up and collided with Fisher’s power.
“Boom!”
With a tremendous sound, the entire Ideal Nation began to shake slightly. The terrifying shockwave blew away nearby buildings, causing the stone tower to tilt slightly.
Chuan immediately looked nervously at the residents of the Ideal Nation still asleep in the buildings. In the dust from a distance, Fisher did not attack again and turned to Chuan, saying,
“Do you want to start a war before they arrive? You should know that battles at the mythical rank will turn everything around into ashes. Why bother?”
“I won’t let you go up.”
It was impossible to reason with him. It seemed Margaret had drained his brain. Whatever she said, he would do without question, rendering communication impossible.
Fisher looked up at the stone tower. He felt that the golden light above was changing slightly when suddenly, he sensed a peculiar wave coming from above.
Fisher was quite familiar with that wave, and it surprisingly resonated with the object Renee had given him to place in the Holy Grail, creating a strange synergy, as if it wanted to enhance its power.
That was… Chaos?
Why would such pure chaos manifest above?
Fisher frowned, feeling the pure chaotic power erupting from above the stone tower. He glanced down at the object that resonated with it.
Could Renee’s object not only tamper with the Holy Grail but also greatly enhance the chaotic power?
Regardless of what the chaos above was, Fisher rationally believed he couldn’t allow Renee’s item to get near it.
First of all, not to mention the consequences of increasing that chaotic power, if the object were to be melted, even if he saw the Holy Grail later, he would never be able to banish death, essentially sealing his doom.
Thus, Fisher decisively took out the item he had stored in his waist. He turned to the Hela behind him and handed her this vital object for his life,
“Hela, something’s wrong up there. I must go up. This item is very important to me. If I lose it, I will be in danger. I’m entrusting it to you for now; hold off Chuan here.”
Hela accepted the item she handed over, her blue-and-gold eyes glanced at the object, and then she smiled at him,
“It seems I have a heavy responsibility… Well then, leave it to me.”
“Yeah, thank you.”
Chuan still wanted to stop him, but Fisher had already lost interest in him. At that moment, Hela, grasping Fisher’s item, suddenly raised her hand to interfere with Chuan before he could attack Fisher, using a warm morning light to interrupt him, and Fisher seized the moment to dart straight toward the stone tower.
“Angel!!”
“Elf!!”
Facing Chuan’s furious shouts, Hela mockingly shouted back at Chuan, almost making his head explode in anger.
He couldn’t handle Hela alone, let alone Fisher, who was determined to rush up.
In his rage, he turned to look at the tall tower behind him, but he could only watch as Fisher sprinted up along the outside of the stone tower.
“Buzz buzz buzz…”
Just as Fisher ascended, a terrifying aura of death spread throughout the entire nation.
……
In midair, Fisher suddenly felt a chill down his spine. At that moment, the death that Renee’s power had repelled wrapped around him once again. His movement stuttered slightly, and then the creeping sense of heart palpitations coiled around him, making it hard for him to breathe.
Invisible black threads spread from deep within the ground, greedy as a voracious beast consuming the offerings placed before it.
Fisher gritted his teeth and wrapped the fluid sword around the stone pillar above with a violent thrust, then pulled hard before his body went soft, sending himself soaring like a slingshot.
“Thud!”
As he rolled to the ground, the closer he got to the center of the stone tower, the faster his heart beat.
Amid the roaring whispers in his ears, Fisher scanned his surroundings and saw Margaret suspended within an intense surge of chaotic power, but he saw no sign of Tang Zeming.
“Margaret…”
Fisher clutched his heart, and his gaze quickly fixed on the conspicuous blood dripping by the water pool and the discarded long-handled dagger. The crimson color in the pool continued to spread, drawing closer to his ominous premonition.
The fate loom on the golden-haired lady was completely transformed into chaotic colors; the writhing, nameless material continuously connected with the Trans, causing her form to gradually distort as if her body could no longer contain her horrific inner self.
Fortunately, he hadn’t brought Renee’s item up; otherwise, who knows what would have happened.
“Teacher Fisher, you finally got here. Hehe, I’ve always been curious; the loom told me you also possess the ability to fully master it, yet you have been pursued by death and have never died—why?”
“Where is Tang Zeming?”
Margaret did not turn around, but her body trembled uncontrollably as if the ecstatic joy from within could no longer be suppressed.
“Hahahaha, where is Tang Zeming? Such a good teacher! Although you are a pervert who likes subhumans and men, you are surprisingly gentle. It’s no wonder Asuka likes you so much; she’d rather have you live than agree to leave with me.”
“I don’t like men.”
Fisher stated.
“It doesn’t matter, Teacher Fisher. Come, I’ll take you to see Asuka. She’s right here. Hehe.”
The fate loom entwined around her seemed to replace certain organs, opening numerous quivering eyes and mouths linked to disgusting saliva, clawing at Fisher and howling.
This person was completely abnormal, drastically different from her usual calm and kind demeanor. Was she always like this, or was it just because a critical issue was imminent that she finally shed her facade?
Feeling the familiar aura of madness emanating from her, Fisher gritted his teeth and sighed.
Truly, in the future, he had been dealing with these crazies who had their complete guidebook, but now that he had come to the past, the guidebook was gone, yet the crazies remained.
Fisher ignored her and focused intently on the blood pooling in the water. If he guessed correctly, Tang Zeming should be inside it. He needed to rescue her first.
Thus, without any words or signals, Fisher—entangled in death—suddenly erupted; he was ready to bypass the blocking Margaret and rescue Tang Zeming from the water pool first.
However, Margaret seemed to have seen it coming. The hundreds of eyes on her loom were firmly fixed on Fisher, as if she were locking onto his fate.
Thus, before he could move, Margaret raised her hand, and more dense death threads coiled around him from beneath.
The ground began to tremble and split open, revealing numerous tightly packed, irregular cracks, from which even more terrifying death threads surged forth, indiscriminately entangling the living beings within the Ideal Nation. Even those at the mythical rank found it hard to escape death, let alone the subhumans or humans in deep slumber.
The sacrifice began.
Margaret’s body was continuously wrapped in chaos and the fate loom, as the terrifying whispers and murmurs escaping from her subjective world began to drip a substance or power that destroyed the rules from her seven orifices.
“Matilda. Quickly, wake up and help Mommy.”
The sacrifice of death enveloping Fisher grew tighter, while Margaret was already unconcerned with him. Sensing the life authority continuously coming from the death authority, she almost ecstatically raised the world tree’s tear below, merging it into the form born from the life authority.
In Margaret’s memory, what kind of appearance should her Matilda have?
She was so sweet and quick to learn languages, very understanding.
When she felt tired, and when she was humiliated by German officers to the point of wanting to commit suicide, she would hug herself with her small, warm body…
She would say,
“Mommy, it’s okay…”
My Matilda…
My daughter…
As death continuously invaded Fisher’s body, the power stored at his waist violently resisted the rules. His waning body finally ceased its downward drop, and at the weak whispers in his ears, Fisher suddenly looked up, only to see the golden tear wrapped in flesh merging before Margaret.
That gradually forming entity bore no resemblance to a baby. Its abominable body, sprouting tentacles in defiance of this world, constantly emitted the stench of blood and flesh, with bubbles of blood emerging from it like a baby’s cries. When Fisher saw that entity, he felt a stinging pain in his eyes.
The entity seemed innately polluted by some terrifying force, as if it were a punishment against this world, continually devouring the life authority spewing forth from the death authority to form its body.
“Roar!!! Aaaah!!!”
Although the sacrifice had not yet been completed, and despite the blood and flesh concealing the world tree’s tears only being about the size of a fist, numerous small mouths with fangs began to sprout on that abominable creature, producing an extremely ear-piercing howl.
Yet upon hearing that piercing sound, Margaret found it comforting, causing tears to fall from her eyes.
“Soon… soon… Matilda… I will return your body, limbs, and organs to you… soon… we will return to our world!”
Fisher could no longer hold back. With wild eyes, he tore open the death lines on his body. The power of the mythical rank finally manifested. He slammed his foot down, reached out, and the fluid sword in his hand exploded forth with a terrifying crack, aimed at Margaret.
The eyes on Margaret that locked onto Fisher began to writhe before he even moved. Just as the fluid sword imbued with terrifying power flew toward her, she swiftly moved her body aside, evading this extremely dangerous strike.
“Boom!”
The passing fluid sword, with a tremendous explosion, completely pierced through the top of the tower, which was still about ten meters high. Yet the force, unhindered, sent debris from the building flying into the air.
The edges of that power grazed the floating flesh entity, shattering part of the tentacles and blisters she had laboriously formed. Although the tears had not yet fully merged to grant her consciousness, she instinctively began to scream.
“Ugh!!!”
“No!! Let her go!”
This completely enraged Margaret. She quickly used the loom’s power to lift “Matilda” into the air, making it harder for Fisher to reach her.
There, the process of death extracting life authority to continue forming Matilda’s body was still ongoing.
Then, with a mad expression, Margaret turned around, fixating her gaze on Fisher, extending her hand straight towards him,
“The loom cannot harm the World Tree; can it harm you, this indigenous person who has just entered the mythical rank? I know every move you make, everything you intend to do… Asuka has refused to sacrifice you; this place no longer concerns you… Why, why do you obstruct my reunion with Matilda?”
Fisher expressionlessly glanced at the flesh entity gradually expanding in the golden glow of the tears above, suddenly smiling mockingly.
“If your previous daughter had grown into such a thing, then I believe this is indeed…”
“Ahhhh!”
But before he could finish speaking, Margaret frantically raised an arm, the chaotic power of the fate loom driving forth overwhelming force, transforming into a spatial storm sweeping towards Fisher.
As the storm passed through, the materials visible to the naked eye began to collapse, the air was compressed, and the matter was condensed until its volume shrank, radiating a scorching glow, showcasing its lethality.
However, the problem was that, for Fisher, such an attack was far too slow.
He simply extended his hand, and the fluid sword flew back from behind, allowing him to dodge the terrifying blow like lightning. Seizing the moment, he once again hurled the fluid sword in his hand, but the result was no different from last time; Margaret seemed to predict his movements, dodging expertly once more. The attack that ruptured space missed its target again.
Fisher’s body did not pause; he hurried toward the direction of the water pool, but just a few steps forward, he felt time around him slow down numerous times. A deadly sense of danger surged, and he retreated again, stepping out of Margaret’s attack range.
The situation fell into another stalemate, with both of them confronting each other from a distance, not daring to approach.
In reality, Fisher and Margaret had no way to deal with each other.
Most of the loom’s abilities were tied up in altering the authority of death, limiting her offensive capabilities, and Margaret’s motherhood compelled her not to stray too far from the Matilda above; conversely, Margaret seemed able to anticipate Fisher’s next actions, rendering his chances to inflict harm on her minuscule.
Moreover, Fisher did not want to entangle with the current Margaret; he first wanted to ascertain the state of Tang Zeming.
He squinted, gazing at the pool radiating a strong aura of death, where the red blood seeped, yet there was still no sign of movement.
Meanwhile, beneath the stone tower, within the Ideal Nation, the sacrifice of death continued.
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(End of Chapter)
