Chapter 548: 26. The Trail of Baemon
“Erwind?”
“What Erwind. Oh, that crazy Shivali? I almost forgot about her.”
Hearing Fisher’s confusion, Emhart tilted his head slightly, peering out from the cover of Fisher’s hand to look at the mass of flesh he was studying.
He noticed that the deformed flesh was continuously drawing in the “Fallen Nature” produced by the surrounding silver, but that wasn’t the most important function. The most important thing was that Fisher felt the aura of Chaos emanating from this flesh.
In the past, when Fisher had not read so much of the Supplement Handbook and had not yet reached such a high rank, he could not distinguish what the aura of Chaos was at all. At most, he felt a tingling sensation when he saw certain things, with the danger of falling into madness.
But today was different. He himself had entered myth through Chaos and had been entangled with Erwind for almost half a year, chasing her all the way from Saint Nali to the Frost Parasol Tree. How could he not recognize the Chaos that was contained within life?
“Don’t you think the means used by these two demons are quite similar to what Erwind obtained from the Supplement Handbook?”
“Hmm, now that you mention it, there is indeed such a feeling. Anyway, it’s nothing good.”
“Yeah.”
Fisher squinted his eyes and subconsciously reached for his Fluid Sword in his arms, but his soul instantly felt a wave of lethargy, as if it had been hollowed out. He paused in surprise and suddenly remembered that earlier, while he was preoccupied with Jasmine, he forgot to show her what the Fluid Sword was like.
He slapped his forehead, lamenting that his brain had not been clear since he entered the Dragon Court, and then he stepped down onto the ground, smashing that mass of flesh.
“Bang!”
With that mass of flesh bursting apart, and the process of extracting the Fallen Nature stopping, the Dragon Court residents who were still engaging with me on the ground showed no obvious improvement. This was entirely because the Fallen Nature produced within them was not given by the demons; even if the extraction stopped, it wouldn’t eliminate the Fallen Nature in their bodies.
The demons’ extraction process merely exacerbated its production, serving as a part of a vicious cycle.
“Mmm.”
After glancing around at the residents who were still engrossed in their revelry, Fisher decided to take action first. He would notify Raphael later to send people from the Blessing Tower to handle the situation.
After all, as long as what extracted the Fallen Nature disappeared, they would slowly wake up and stop after venting their animalistic desires. Interrupting them now might actually cause psychological and physiological issues.
“Could it be that Erwind has a connection with the demons?”
“That’s possible.”
Fisher suddenly recalled the first time he encountered Eil. At that time, she was ordered to hunt down the fleeing Erwind, who had escaped to Saint Nali. He hadn’t inquired in detail about what crimes Erwind committed in the Demon Dynasty; perhaps it was related to what Fisher was encountering now.
He leaped over the beings still immersed in ecstasy, jumping up to a nearby shed, looking around while letting the breeze brush against his face.
His body began to squirm bit by bit, as if representing the restlessness of his soul hidden within his flesh.
Emhart was startled but soon realized that Fisher was using the power of those forbidden knowledge from earlier.
Initially, Fisher resisted this knowledge in the Supplement Handbook very much, as he did not want to end up like Feilon and Erwind. However, Fisher would inevitably encounter the dilemmas that they once faced, and when faced with problems without any alternatives, he might have to rely on such dangerous powers to achieve his goals.
In this sense, Fisher could actually understand them.
“Gurururu.”
With his soul fully activated, the Chaos-imbued Fisher began to search for the whereabouts of those two elusive demons within the entire Dragon Court.
Such a significant amount of Chaos was present, and they were also severely injured; they wouldn’t have fled too far.
“Fisher, can’t you use magic instead of relying on this power?”
Emhart, frightened by Fisher’s changing body, quickly opened his mouth to advise him.
As Fisher searched for the demons’ traces, enduring the murmurs that began to permeate his ears, he explained to Emhart,
“I want to, but the higher the rank, the less effective magic becomes.”
“You didn’t study a dual-ring head magic before? Shouldn’t that be comparable to mythical rank strength?”
“The dual-ring head magic isn’t formed by stacking any two magic rings together. Humans have researched magic for so many years, yet only my teacher Heilson has created this sole dual-ring head magic; do you think that’s a coincidence?”
In the distance, Fisher seemed to catch a whiff of something unusual. He turned his head to continue searching for clues, not breaking off his conversation with Emhart.
“But that doesn’t mean that powerful magic doesn’t exist. When you were beside Gabriel, I met a Trans who had extremely high magical talent, precisely the one you saw, Tang Zeming Asuka. In the past, her title in the Creation Society was ‘Magic Lord’. Back in the Ideal Nation, she could even autonomously connect several composite ring head magics that I couldn’t even comprehend, indicating that besides the ‘Dragon Slayer Lance’, there exist other magics comparable to the mythical level; it’s just that I haven’t discovered them yet.”
“Is that so exaggerated? Wasn’t she supposed to be your student?”
“Is a student necessarily inferior to their teacher? Moreover, she’s an extremely rare prodigy. If that’s the case, I’d never expect to catch up with Teacher Heilson in my life, so why bother studying?”
“That’s fair. But since so many years ago, even before the Mother’s descent, your student had mastered such advanced magic, why didn’t the Mother teach them these when imparting magic to humans? Instead, she only taught them magic below the mythical rank.”
“And she didn’t even completely teach the magic below the mythical rank. The magic humans learned initially was very primitive and incomplete; most of the magic we have today was developed by humans themselves.”
“I see.”
In truth, Fisher may have known the answer to Emhart’s question.
He recalled reading from the Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans, “Source Grimoire, Part One,” which detailed that the Mother was entrusted by a friend to impart magic to humans.
This implies that the Mother was not the creator of magic, and the content she later taught was already a second-hand version, making it seem “primitive.”
Based on Tang Zeming Asuka’s level of magic, Fisher speculated that the “friend” mentioned by the Mother was likely Tang Zeming Asuka, the president of the Creation Society.
The Mother was in the Spirit Realm at the time; if Tang Zeming Asuka indeed knew her, did that not indicate that she had crossed the Spirit Realm’s “Ultimate” to leave this world?
While Fisher and Emhart were conversing, his gaze suddenly fixed on a specific location near the coast.
“I found it.”
Fisher’s body gradually transformed back to its original form. He quickly covered Emhart in his arms and rushed toward the direction close to the coast with a whoosh.
About a hundred meters from the Dragon Court’s coast, in an old-looking shipyard that seemed to have been abandoned, faint sounds of flesh squirming could be heard.
Previously, when the human allied forces led by Nali had not been defeated in front of the Dragon Court, they had launched an attack on the coastline from the ocean, and this shipyard was one of the first places to be attacked.
After that incident, the Dragon Courts had dismantled their original site and retreated.
“Quickly, Lilim, I feel that the blood vessel left behind by someone has been destroyed.”
Inside the abandoned factory, a female voice suddenly rang out. Upon closer inspection, in the dock that originally housed the boats and connected to the ocean, a headless shadow was dragging a round hull into the water.
Behind that shadow, a part identical to the flesh that Fisher had just destroyed was connected to its tail, continuously transporting Fallen Nature.
To the demons, those intangible Fallen Natures were like pure energy, extremely delicious nourishment.
Under the repair of the Fallen Nature, their originally headless bodies began to bizarrely grow half of a face, with the juvenile-looking horns dripping thick liquid already forming a shape.
“I know, Lalam.”
Just behind the demon that was pulling the ship, another demon carrying oars and supplies appeared.
It seemed they were planning to use the leftover hull from this abandoned shipyard to leave the Dragon Court.
“Thanks to Lord Ag, had it not been for his blessing, we wouldn’t have survived being smashed if we got hit in the head by mythical rank attacks.”
The demon named “Lalam,” who was dragging the ship, tossed the hull into the water and touched the half-formed flesh on her head, expressing gratitude and excitement.
“Hey, don’t forget that it was Lord Ag and Lord Barbatos who sent us here to die.”
In contrast to Lalam, Lilim’s expression was filled with disdain; she pouted, appearing quite displeased,
“Coco is just as brainless as you. When asked to sacrifice, she actually went to her death without a word. How ridiculous.”
“What does it matter? Anyway, even if we attendants die, we will be reborn from the ‘Lava Pool’ of the dynasty. Dying is just dying.”
“Are you saying the appearance changes, and all memories are lost, that it’s like becoming a new person? Is that still called rebirth?”
Lilim threw everything she was holding into the hull, then jumped onto the ship first, muttering under her breath,
“These demon gods don’t take us seriously at all. They might as well just remain asleep; at least I had a little freedom when I was hiding among humans.”
“Lilim was in the human realm before? Impressive, I was asleep. Where were you?”
“Nali.”
“What were you doing there?”
“Working.”
“How is that different from now?”
“.”
Lilim’s half face couldn’t even fully express a change in emotions, but it was clear she was infuriated.
It seemed during her time in Saint Nali, this demon held contempt for her previous work,
“Are you going to leave or not? If you don’t hurry, I’ll go alone!”
“Leave, of course.”
“Crack!”
But just then, the heavy door of the abandoned shipyard suddenly burst open, revealing a tall figure dressed in red robes.
At the moment the door swung open, both Lilim and Lalam instantly felt a chilling dread and fear emanating from their souls.
That sensation flooded into this small space like a tide, stripping away their breath and heartbeat completely.
“I found you.”
The man instantly spotted the two demons standing by the dock, raised an eyebrow, but noticed that in the next moment, the reactions of the two demons were completely different.
The demon on the shore changed color, and although still frightened, raised her tail behind her, seemingly ready to fight Fisher to the death.
Meanwhile, the one on the ship began to row frantically, desperately trying to escape the shipyard.
“For the Demon Dynasty!”
“.”
Faced with the demon that shouted and lunged at him, Fisher’s right hand began to slowly move again. Looking closely, it was the soul driving the distortion of the flesh, revealing an intense hunger from his transforming spirit.
“Consume their souls!”
Fisher’s expression instantly turned cold, as if, at that moment, he was the black mud facing a giant dragon, ready to swallow all things into meaningless nothingness.
But in the next second, he was slightly taken aback, his deformed arm quickly turning back to human form. Facing the demon just a short distance away, he swiftly raised his hand, smashing it hard into the ground before him.
“Boom!”
Hearing the loud crash from behind, the fleeing demon trembled, running even faster, nearing the entrance of the shipyard in an instant.
However, due to prolonged abandonment, the dock’s heavy door was utterly stuck; even that demon with half a face could not open the gate despite exerting all her strength.
As the low-ranking demon attendants, their ranks were only around the eighth, though stronger than the small demons below the fifth rank, they were no match for someone like Fisher at the mythical rank.
Lilim’s half face turned pale, and after that loud noise, it became unnervingly silent, making her fearfully want to look back at what had happened, yet she didn’t dare to turn around.
“Do you need my help?”
The next moment, the man’s voice exploded in her ears, completely burying her in despair.
She trembled as she turned her head, only to see that Fisher had quietly arrived on her ship, holding the severely injured Lalam.
She was so frightened that her body trembled, and then, weak and spineless, she fell to her knees.
“Don’t, don’t, don’t kill me…I…I am a demon of Nali.”
“.”
What is a demon of Nali?
Fisher didn’t understand, so he simply tossed the bloodied Lalam next to her, then spoke.
“I ask, you answer.”
“Okay, okay! I will speak without reservation!”
Lilim’s eyes lit up slightly at the prospect, and she sat upright on the ship, displaying a pious demeanor as if she were converting.
“Lilim.”
Lying on the ground, Lalam coughed and looked at Lilim with her one eye, saying,
“You traitor.”
Lilim ignored her, instead focusing on Fisher with a pleasing gaze. Meanwhile, she lifted an oar resting beside her on the shipboard and struck Lalam on the head with a thud.
“Bang!”
With another heavy blow, Lalam immediately lost consciousness and lay still.
“Excuse me, human lord, I am at your service.”
Emhart, cradled in Fisher’s arms, glanced at her, retorting,
“Truly a demon of Nali; they are really more pure than the demons in the Demon Dynasty.”
Fisher narrowed his eyes at Lilim and then asked,
“How many mythical rank demons are in Nali’s army?”
“Two, namely the Grand General Ag and the General Barbatos.”
It seemed Fisher’s previous guess was correct; indeed, two demon species had awakened. Fortunately, only two had awakened; if there were more, he would really be overwhelmed.
“How did they awaken?”
“I…I don’t know. Long, long ago, the demon gods were locked in the dynasty. Since I was born out of the lava pool of the dynasty, I have been wandering in the human world. Of course, many demon attendants and small demons stayed by the lava pool.”
Lilim swallowed her saliva and explained to Fisher.
“I had been lurking in human nations like Nali and Shivali for several hundred years, drifting around. Occasionally worked, taking a little bit of Fallen Nature to live.
“But around, hmm, four years ago, a sudden decree from the demon gods came, and for the powerful demon gods, we had no choice but to return to the Demon Dynasty upon summoning, as we couldn’t resist.”
“The two demon gods Ag and Barbatos awakened from their restraints for some unknown reason and summoned most demon attendants back to the surface, but they neither attacked other races nor extracted Fallen Nature. Instead, they lay low, mingling with Nali’s army until today.”
It seemed even the demon attendants didn’t know what their leaders wanted.
Fisher pondered for a moment before asking another question.
“You mentioned earlier that your bodies are blessed by Lord Ag; is that related to that flesh?”
“Yes, yes, if it weren’t for Ag’s blessing, we would have died as soon as our heads were smashed; how could we still be alive now?”
Lilim touched the half of her face still hanging on her head and said,
“The power of Lord Ag is strange and frightening. She can not only transform the appearance and nature of other beings but also use flesh to create weapons and create new life, possessing a creative ability.
“Legend has it that Lord Ag is immortal and guards the secrets of death and life. In ancient times, summoning her could grant wishes and bestow powerful strength from other races.”
The more Fisher listened, the more he felt that this demon god’s power was strikingly similar to Erwind’s.
Transforming the appearance and nature of beings sounded just like the creations Erwind made while in Nali.
Human-Worm and Plant Flesh.
Could it be that Ag had a special reason for sending Eil to hunt down Erwind?
Erwind must have done something while these demon species were asleep that made Ag want Eil’s soul to leave her body and chase her across vast distances.
Fisher asked a few more questions regarding Ag and Barbatos’s abilities, but the answers he obtained were extremely ambiguous.
To these low-ranking demon attendants, these eighteenth-ranked demon gods were as powerful and omnipotent as the Mother.
Besides various ambiguous grand descriptions, Fisher still gleaned some information about these two demon gods’ abilities.
Ag’s ability seemed related to flesh and blood, able to create life’s creations, and carried a large black bird with her, which seemed to possess the ability to foresee the future.
In summary, she was like a vastly more powerful version of Erwind?
And the other one, Barbatos, excelled at archery. His arrows were undodgeable, capable of controlling all the gales in the world, and had the ability to use the winds to scout for information.
Moreover, he could communicate with non-sentient animals and place the souls of sinners within animals for interrogation.
That was about it; Fisher couldn’t extract any more information. But he was certain that the power of an eighteenth-ranked demon species was far more than this.
“Is that all, human lord? May I ask if I can leave?”
Lilim spoke quickly, having said so much that her exposed tongue and root seemed dry and looking extremely pitiful.
Fisher shot her a glance, finally asking,
“For the last question, do you know the whereabouts of the demon god Baemon?”
“Baemon?”
Lilim was slightly taken aback, while Emhart was already “avoiding the demon,” unable to bear even the sound of half the word.
Lilim chewed on this word, and then suddenly her eye lit up as she excitedly said to Fisher,
“I remember, human lord, I know!”
Fisher raised an eyebrow, and just the thought of knowing Hela’s whereabouts made his heart race.
He instinctively took a step forward, moving slightly closer to Lilim, asking,
“Where is she, in Nali’s army or…?”
Lilim leaned in closely, softly responding to Fisher,
“Baemon, Baemon the demon god, she—”
Her excited, somewhat flustered reply suddenly transformed in the next second into a playful, soft tone,
“She’s right here, darling~”
That sweet voice rang out, and in that moment, it felt as if Lilim’s voice transformed into the wicked angel’s taunting whisper.
Fisher couldn’t shake the feeling that something in the murky darkness beyond his vision seemed to gently kiss his cheek.
Was it this half-faced Lilim?
Or someone else?
At this moment, the mythical-ranked Fisher’s senses became incredibly blurry. Perhaps he shouldn’t be blamed for this, as his body started to wriggle irregularly again, and chaotic murmurs echoed in his ears.
But all these countless murmurs were far less enchanting than that single soft voice.
Fisher’s pupils constricted, his mind felt as if it had been pierced by that sound, freezing him in place.
(End of Chapter)
