Chapter 51: The Finale
In a city filled with smoke and flames, Fisher was breathing heavily against a wall, the light of the staff in his hand dimming once more, and the magic rune covering the top of the staff slowly losing another ring.
He was nearly out of magic; he had prepared over a hundred magic runes for this journey, almost completely inscribing the entire staff, but during the battle with Feilon, it was almost depleted.
The other party’s fuel was the souls of those children, and squeezing out one child’s soul could unleash a lot of energy. Now, Feilon still had five vials behind him, while the magic runes on Fisher’s staff only had a few rings left to keep the staff intact with 【Reinforcement】 magic.
Moreover, he had sustained many wounds from Feilon’s Death Rays, with blood seeping from wounds on his lower abdomen and chest, giving him a constant pain, but the adrenaline from the fight dulled that pain somewhat.
“Haha, Mr. Fisher’s fighting spirit is indeed strong, but if I’m not mistaken, your staff’s magic is nearly depleted as well.”
From the dust created by the battle in the distance, a tall figure stepped out once more, clapping his hands, causing a backpack behind him to open and shoot out a metal canister.
He still had four canisters left, but Fisher wouldn’t last long enough for him to use them all.
Fisher leaned against the edge of the ruins, his face showing no sign of panic despite the desperate situation, as reason told him that only by staying calm could he think of a way to survive, and that losing his composure was futile.
“I originally planned to use only a few, but I didn’t expect Mr. Fisher’s magic power to be so strong, being able to easily handle so many dangerous high-tier spells. You truly are remarkable.”
Fisher gripped the staff beside him and said to Feilon, “You couldn’t have accomplished all of this alone… Who is behind you? Nali? Shivali? Or Cardu?”
The underground of Feilon City had complex structures. Even if Feilon researched all the results about souls by himself, and was selling this energy to other humans, he would definitely be investigated unless there was another force hiding his tracks. Otherwise, Fisher wouldn’t have only recently learned about such things in Feilon City on the Southern Continent.
Feilon looked at Fisher, paused for a moment but did not respond to Fisher’s question. He only gazed at Fisher’s wounded body.
“Fisher, I still stand by my previous proposal. I can let you and that red dragon go. What you’ve done in this city will be overlooked, but you must ensure you don’t leak anything from here.”
Fisher’s gaze flickered, and he stood up, supporting himself with the staff, his hands stained with blood, and as he moved, the blood smeared onto the staff.
“No need, this is the end.”
Feilon sighed, seeming a bit regretful. “Such a clever mind, what a pity.”
With this final statement, deep blue light ignited around him once more. Fisher took a deep breath, gripped his staff with the opposite hand, and assumed a battle stance.
“Clang!”
A Death Ray shot toward Fisher. Without magic, Fisher uncharacteristically moved toward Feilon, his arm seemingly injured, as the staff dragged along the ground, leaving marks.
Was he trying to get close?
Feilon thought, but his body benefited from the steam backpack behind him, which far surpassed Fisher’s strength. The power ignited by a whole soul made him strong like a superhero from a novel. Since that was the case…
His right hand’s Death Ray gradually extinguished, morphing into a fist aimed straight at Fisher. Fisher raised his staff to block, and in an instant, the staff lit up with glowing runes from the overwhelming force. Fisher himself gritted his teeth, half-kneeling on the ground, with the staff embedded in the ground.
“Fisher!”
Feilon seemed to want to give him one last chance, but Fisher’s expression was calm. He slightly tilted the staff, tracing an arc on the ground, leaving a mark. His blood-stained left hand struck out toward Feilon’s face, landing a hit, but Feilon remained unmoving.
Fisher nimbly handled the staff, dodging around, but his right hand that held the staff seemed to be devoid of strength, dragging it helplessly along the ground.
Let him strike his right hand and completely eliminate his ability to resist!
Feilon’s eyes narrowed, his right hand bursting with light, seizing the moment Fisher was dodging to strike at his body, forcing Fisher to use the staff to defend. Indeed, Fisher had no choice but to raise the staff horizontally. Behind Feilon, blue energy surged into his right hand, causing his strength to explode.
“Crack!”
Fisher’s right hand dislocated from the immense force, sending him flying through the air. Fisher tightly grasped the staff with his left hand, embedding it in the ground to stop himself.
The staff remained in position, and Fisher seemed to let out a breath of relief as he halted.
“I’m sorry, Fisher.”
Feilon extended his right hand, the Death Ray already ignited. He had already given Fisher many chances; since he was trying to obstruct him, he could only…
“There’s no need to apologize, Feilon, it’s over.”
Fisher covered his dislocated right hand with his left hand but did not move the staff. The reinforcement magic on the staff had dissipated; without the magical reinforcement, the staff instantly turned to ash and scattered into the air.
His face was pale, yet he continued to stare calmly at Feilon.
Over?
Feilon looked at the serene Fisher before him, suddenly realized something, and his face changed as he looked down at the ground, where he saw the marks Fisher had carved while dodging suddenly igniting, bursting forth with a crimson glow.
It turned out to be a massive magic rune, but unlike the circular structure of human runes, it looked more like a deformed tooth, preventing Feilon from recognizing at once that what Fisher had carved on the ground was indeed a magic rune.
This guy, during the battle, had inscribed a magic rune on the ground with his staff!
“Human blood is a natural magic material; I made some modifications to this spell, but it should be powerful enough. Get lost, I’ve had enough of seeing your gas mask.”
Fisher coldly snapped his fingers, and the draconic magic on the ground instantly collapsed, unleashing a torrent of flames from the void, consuming Feilon, who was standing right on the magic rune.
“Boom!”
The extreme heat melted all the connections to the mechanical limb on his body, and the enormous temperature caused the backpack behind him to explode. The light blue phantom forms from the remaining four canisters struggled to escape, drifting off to unknown destinations.
“Ua tsaug.”
Only one of the canister’s souls floated down next to Fisher, seemingly whispering something near him, but he couldn’t hear her clearly, only seeing the wolf ears on her little phantom head quiver.
“‘Children who crave freedom, flow down the river formed by your dreams. See the flowers budding in spring, hear the cicadas chirping on branches in summer, witness the golden wheat in autumn, and watch the shimmering snowflakes. Just don’t forget to bring back a message so I can see you after experiencing all those beautiful sights.’ Sleep well, Qiqi.”
Fisher quietly recited a poem by Laura, and the nearby soul seemed to listen and grow sleepy, stretching and virtually hugging Fisher’s neck, resting her wolf-eared face against him.
She left an imaginary kiss, and the next moment, she slowly dissipated before the burning flames.
“Boom.”
The draconic magic flames gradually dissipated, and at the center of the burning inferno, Feilon, whose feet had completely burned away, stared blankly at the sky. The gas mask he wore prevented him from being instantly incinerated, but the nutrient fluid exploded from the mask due to the high temperature, exposing his scarred skin to the air, which turned red and began to rot in mere seconds.
But he did not scream in pain, merely staring vacantly at the sky. After a second or two, he smiled.
“Have I failed once more? Setting aside our battle, Mr. Fisher, I must ask you once more the question I previously asked: as a train track manager, what would you do?”
Fisher, in excruciating pain, could no longer stand and leaned against the edge of the ruins. Borrowing from the nearby burning flame, he lit a cigarette, the pain too much for him, seeking any discomfort from it.
He exhaled and said, “I told you, I wouldn’t do anything.”
“And if there are fifty people standing on one side of the train tracks?”
“The answer remains the same.”
“What about five hundred, five thousand, five hundred thousand?”
“The answer remains the same.”
“Can you tell me why?”
Feilon’s one eye glimmered with eager curiosity, as if he were just one step away from the answer he had pursued for a lifetime. Even as his body neared death, his thirst for the answer far exceeded his will to survive.
Fisher glanced at him, looking off into the distance toward his mansion, where flames continuously billowed. He felt Mill and the others getting closer to the surface, and they seemed to be healthy.
Had Raphael succeeded?
On the mountain, a red-horned dragon was dragging her companions one by one out from the cave. Despite being splattered with blood and dirt, her beauty remained unmasked. Raphael emerged and panickedly searched for Fisher’s whereabouts, despite having once held disdain for him in her heart.
Fisher’s gaze was distant; after a long moment, seemingly answering Feilon and his own heart, he said, “Kill one to save the world—I’m disdainful of doing such things.”
Feilon looked at the distant Fisher, seeming to enter deep thought. After a long wait, he seemed to understand something and suddenly laughed out loud at the chaos of ash in the sky.
“Hahahahahahaha!”
Fisher extinguished his cigarette, staggering to his feet. The distant voice of Feilon grew softer, yet he still trembled as he pulled out an ancient book from his chest and handed it to Fisher.
“Take this. How to use this technique is up to you, but it’s best not to tear it up; otherwise, it will appear in another place in the hands of another person.”
Fisher received the ancient book he handed over in surprise. The text suddenly transformed into the language of Nali, reading:
【Soul Supplement Handbook】
Fisher’s pupils constricted slightly, turning to look in disbelief at Feilon on the ground, seeing his gaze hollow and seemingly having lost his sight, his breathing gradually weakening.
“Fisher, you must leave quickly; this place is going to collapse.”
Yang Zhu: “Damage one hair and profit the world; refuse to do so. Give everything to the world, take nothing; no one is harmed, no one profits, the world is governed.”
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(End of Chapter)
