Chapter 549: 27. Question
“Ah! There’s something dirty ah ah ah!”
When Fisher even thought that the corresponding illusion appeared because he used the power of the Soul Supplement Handbook, Emhart had already sensed something in his arms. Suddenly trembling, he squeezed out from Fisher’s embrace and flew towards the back of the shipyard.
The surrounding darkness instantly became thick and sticky, but for some reason, Fisher surprisingly felt a sense of familiarity in this daunting atmosphere.
He glanced at Lilim beside him but found that her originally terrifying and hideous half face had fully transformed into a beautifully smiling visage hidden in the darkness.
The abandoned shipyard, which was originally damp and cold, at this moment seemed to be enveloped in a layer of hellish flames, as if an endless sea of chaos was displayed before Fisher’s eyes. But in an instant, it was covered by a tide of darkness, from which only the hazy figure of Hela, carrying a faint fragrance, could be seen.
He couldn’t tell whether this was an illusion or reality, nor could he discern if the demon before him was an illusion or Lilim disguised by Hela.
In the darkness, Fisher couldn’t make out her figure or neck; even her beautiful face was only vaguely perceptible as a silhouette.
But at this moment, he felt unbelievable, murmuring,
“Hela?”
“You’re not being obedient, my dear.”
In response, Hela’s smile deepened in the darkness. She spoke gently, her breath fragrant like orchids,
“If you want to see me, just say it directly. Why ask others? If you say it, I will listen. That little guy should have told you this.”
“Ah ah ah ah, Fisher! Run ah ah ah ah! That murderous Baemon!! She’s coming!!”
Behind him, Emhart, panicked like a headless fly, was running wildly around the shipyard, desperately trying to find an escape route.
But he was completely lost and how could he get out in such a panic?
Hela didn’t even glance towards Emhart, but Fisher felt something in the darkness beside him dart out, rushing towards Emhart with a sound like the wind.
It seemed like a slap.
“Smack!”
“Ow!”
After that invisible slap, the sound of Emhart’s startled shout and him falling and rolling on the ground echoed from the distance within the shipyard.
“Thud! Thud! Thud!”
The area became quiet again, and Hela cast a smiling glance at the retreating Emhart, quickly retracting her gaze back to the now-intently staring Fisher.
Fisher also looked at her, and after a second of silence, he asked again,
“Hela, what exactly is that game you mentioned?”
“Don’t you already know, my dear?”
Hela moved a little closer to Fisher, lightly kissing the corner of his lips, bringing a melodious, dreamy song.
“Are you talking about the Apocalypse Prophecy?”
“Is it really that?”
Fisher frowned slightly, seeming dissatisfied with her ambiguous attitude. He stepped forward and assertively pinched her chin, making her blush slightly as she raised her head.
“Ah.”
“Hela, what exactly are you? What do you want?”
Looking at her affectedly calling for mercy while still maintaining her smiling demeanor, Fisher knew she was still teasing him.
But her casualness did not diminish Fisher’s confusion; rather, it made him more eager to explore the secrets she hid in the darkness.
“Why were you able to activate the mark on my waist at that time? That mark contained the power of the True God. How could you achieve that so easily?
“What exactly happened between you and Pandora and Remiel under the Ideal Nation? Is the birth of demons related to you? How did you release them, and what did you want to do with them?”
Fisher edged closer to Hela, his increasingly aggressive demeanor perhaps due to himself, as at this moment for some unknown reason, whispers began to echo in his ears, provoking the retreat of his rationality.
A slight ripple appeared on Hela’s charming face as he gripped her chin; her expression instantly became pitiable, looking at Fisher while pleading softly,
“It hurts.”
Fisher paused slightly, his hand stiffening. But he heard her then tremble and say,
“What’s wrong with you? You’re so scary now.”
“I…”
Fisher abruptly looked at his extended hand, took a deep breath, realizing he was losing control.
“I’m sorry.”
Just as he prepared to retract his hand and his excessive inquiries with a sincere apology, the next moment, he felt a sharp pain in his fingertips.
“Hiss.”
He looked down to see her mischievous mouth had already released his index finger, and a noticeable bite mark with blood lingered, reminding Fisher as if it was both a pout and a form of revenge.
“You—”
Fisher was about to say something when Hela seemed to foresee it, gently took the finger she had bitten into her mouth, and with a soft lick, his wound seemed to vanish as if it had never existed.
Indeed, only in front of Hela did Fisher feel that whatever he wanted to do could be anticipated by her, and the corresponding methods she issued always left Fisher unable to react, making it impossible to investigate her occasionally excessive conduct.
“Are you feeling better, my dear~”
“…”
Fisher gritted his teeth as he withdrew his finger from her mouth, the habitual force involuntarily pulling back. As her body moved, the surrounding darkness began to surge like a tide, creating ripples. She tilted her head back, her charming form shrouded in white robes revealed a slight silhouette, swimming leisurely in the sea, smiling at Fisher.
“You still haven’t answered my question.”
Hela looked at Fisher, not answering his inquiry but instead inquiring,
“Are you worried I might harm those women you know?”
“You actually found me a long time ago, didn’t you?”
“Yes, theoretically, I’ve known you for ten thousand years, far earlier than anyone you know. Although for some reasons, I didn’t find you from the start, I indeed paid attention to you for a long time.”
“Then why—”
Fisher was puzzled; he wanted to ask why if Hela had been paying attention to him for so long, she didn’t stop him from knowing other ladies and remained hidden until he returned from the Holy Realm.
Hela’s smile faded as she clearly knew what Fisher wanted to ask, but she seemed unwilling to talk more about this topic. Instead, she revealed another smiling expression and asked Fisher,
“Fisher, what if I said that this time I came for those women you know? If those demons were released by me, I want to act against them and everything they possess, for instance, your Dragon Queen, letting her meet her doom. What would you do?”
Fisher stared directly at Hela, pausing for a moment before he decisively replied,
“I won’t let you have your way.”
“Even if by doing so you have to face possibly three demons of eighteen ranks or higher, or even more demons ranked higher than you? Even when you’re isolated and helpless, even if those ladies you want to protect might turn against each other, harming each other and causing harm to you?”
“The answer remains the same, Hela.”
As they spoke, Fisher suddenly felt a touch on his shoulder, the darkness blocking his originally keen perception, forcing him to turn and observe his surroundings the primitive way.
At this turn, the Hela who should have been in front of him bizarrely leaned on his shoulder, lightly brushing against Fisher’s cheek like a veil.
“Do you want me to make you sad?”
“…”
Fisher just looked at her, silently refusing to answer.
And Hela, nestled against Fisher’s shoulder, naturally understood his meaning and sighed,
“How heartless. I have remained the same for a millennia for you, but you have changed so rapidly.”
“That’s different, Hela.”
“… You should be thankful for that damned loose end, Fisher.”
At the mention of that term, Hela’s expression turned completely cold. She sneered and gently pushed Fisher’s shoulder, floating again in the darkness.
“Loose end?”
“Ah, a very annoying person, the culprit behind everything today.”
Hela shook her head, seemingly unwilling to say anything more regarding that so-called “loose end,” merely floating away and breaking off from the previous topic.
Culprit?
Fisher mulled over this term, clearly hearing the unusual meaning in Hela’s words. It seemed that for the first time, she was also quite troubled and annoyed by this “loose end.”
As she slowly floated away, her figure once again vanished into the darkness, then appeared like a wraith behind Fisher, near his ear, beside his hand, at the pulse of his heartbeat.
Once again, Fisher felt her kiss his cheek, as if a current surged through him, bringing with it a sweet tingling sensation.
At this moment, she returned from the darkness, her previously cold expression completely cleared up, returning to her original smile, though that smile had lost some of its playfulness and gained a touch more seriousness.
“I really dislike the other women you meet. They are like nails driven into your flesh, pinning you in the whirlpool of destruction, stopping you from coming to me. And you, like a fool, under the instigation of evildoers, raise the hammer yourself, unwittingly driving those nails into yourself while still finding it sweet.”
“The Apocalypse Prophecy is coming. If you don’t escape soon, you will perish within it. Fisher, you don’t know what I have experienced over these ten thousand years; the earlier disasters were merely the prelude to the apocalypse, which will engulf my homeland, the Holy Realm, the Tree Continent where the elves reside, and Fei’s Dragon Court, significantly more powerful than now. How could I bear to put you among them?
“Are you not curious why I am what I am? Why was I able to activate the mark on you? I will tell you now, I am the last surviving angel race. Before you left, I met that elf, Ch, who can see the future.
“She found me and revealed to me the inevitable future of destruction and the way to break free from the fate of annihilation. She told me about the knowledge of chaos and the prophecy related to the apocalypse. She sacrificed herself to find a bright path for this world. She said you are the key to solving this Apocalypse Prophecy and hoped I could assist you secretly, but she couldn’t grant me the power to turn everything around.
“She wanted us to help this world together, but… This path requires too many sacrifices that I cannot accept.”
“You don’t understand; even a True God would be powerless in the face of such prophecy. I only have a rank of nineteen, and you have only just entered the mythical realm. Our power is exceedingly weak. But I also know the principles of avoiding disaster; don’t forget, you taught me that principle. So, even if you are reluctant to flee this ‘so-called sweetness but is indeed an abyss’ of the apocalypse whirlpool, I must pull out each of those nails from you one by one and take you away. Do you understand?”
Hela bit Fisher’s earlobe, earnestly persuading him,
“So, the actions of those two demons represent my intentions. Fisher, listen to me, stay at the Dragon Court and do nothing. You cannot do anything. Leave everything to me, okay? That Dragon Queen possesses the key properties to trigger the Apocalypse Prophecy; let me kill her. Even delaying for a moment the arrival of destruction, we can take the opportunity to flee far away, disregarding everything.”
Fisher’s expression gradually became serious. Upon hearing Hela’s words, he realized that acquiring the Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans and knowing about the Apocalypse Prophecy was not a coincidence. Ch had long been keeping an eye on him, allowing him to enter the mythical rank, even reaching out to Hela to help him survive the catastrophe of the collapse of the Holy Realm and the demise of mythology, aiming to have her assist him in resolving the Apocalypse Prophecy.
But ultimately, Hela worried about him, not wanting him to take risks, so she wanted to kill those related to the Apocalypse Prophecy first, and then save herself who was deeply ensnared.
“So, the game you mentioned was in reference to Ch and the instructions you gave me, which means letting me give up everything I have in exchange for three blessings or benefits, right?”
Hela merely looked at Fisher and said,
“No, I met Ch long before I met you. Long before I encountered you, I had already been revealed my fate by Ch, seen the true meaning of chaos, and the secrets of another world and the Trans. So the first time I met you, I… But you know, I don’t believe in fate; I believe in myself more. But don’t tell me, teasing you is really fun.”
No wonder, no wonder she played with the “Cupid,” which did not exist in the Holy Realm. It turned out to be a concept from another world?
But Fisher had no intention of joking with Hela; he finally understood why both Hela and Ch had inexplicably shown him kindness in the past. Though perhaps this was not the direct reason for Hela’s relationship with him, it at least required this opportunity.
The problem was, could he really be, as Ch said, the key to solving the Apocalypse Prophecy?
Just because he found these ladies, representing the power of destruction, guided by the Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans and formed bonds with them?
But Fisher always felt that they themselves were not the key to the apocalypse. He recalled Hela’s previous words; she said Raphael had the “key properties to trigger the Apocalypse Prophecy,” and that was why Hela wanted to kill Raphael.
“Hela, what did you mean by the key properties to trigger the Apocalypse Prophecy?”
Upon hearing this, Hela paused slightly, not responding to his question, only frowning slightly and saying to Fisher,
“Do you think that even if I told you the pros and cons, you would still not let go?”
“If I could truly let go, I wouldn’t have jumped into the chaotic sea of the Ideal Nation to save you back then.”
Hela retreated slightly in the darkness until the darkness obscured half of her face, leaving only a slight outline.
“…You’re right; you are that kind of person. That’s why you cling to them so tightly. Heh, Ch believes in you, but I don’t trust her. Raphael will definitely die, but it won’t be at my hands. Those two demons will not obey my orders. After being trapped for millennia, they crave freedom like never before. You were present during the Ideal Nation Incident, so you know the relationship between demons and chaos. The Apocalypse Prophecy arose from chaos, and the mystery of triggering the Apocalypse Prophecy in Raphael is the key to their freedom.”
Within that outline, her shadowy, smiling expression became visible again.
Then she finally said to Fisher once more,
“As I said, you won’t be in trouble even if this world encounters problems. After Raphael dies, I will come to pick you up.”
“Raphael will not die.”
Fisher firmly looked at her, but she no longer intended to continue that topic. She merely yawned and nonchalantly said,
“Heh, just try it. But now I have to leave. Before I go, do you want to kiss me voluntarily?”
Fisher was about to voice his response, but her words choked him. He helplessly glanced at her. Even knowing this, despite the apparent divergence, they still couldn’t exhibit any tension, just like how Emhart had warned Fisher multiple times before. Upon their next meeting, he still couldn’t question her.
Back in the Holy Realm, the impression she left on him was too profound, and as she had said, Fisher was willing to believe she was doing it for his benefit, but she would never act for the good of the women he knew.
Therefore, their safety must be guaranteed by him.
He sighed, stepped forward, and slowly approached the face she hid in the darkness. Before kissing her, Fisher suddenly asked,
“Wait, are you using the body of that Demon Attendant?”
“Are you a germaphobe?”
Hela smiled slightly, then shook her head and said,
“Nope.”
“If you’ve been watching me all along, doesn’t that mean all those things I did before, especially at night, you completely…”
Hela gave him a half-smile, slowly sinking into the darkness.
“I’m leaving, my dear.”
“Smack!”
But before that, Fisher still kissed her, stopping her descent.
He closed his eyes as he kissed her somewhat cold lips, parting only after a long time, and Hela showed no sign of refusal, willingly accepting his affection.
Until they finally separated, Hela licked her lips, savoring the moment.
“Not bad, not bad, just like how it felt ten thousand years ago. But even so, what I said earlier won’t change.”
“I know.”
“Ch thinks you can solve the prophecy of destruction brought by chaos, but the result is that you are sinking deeper into chaos. I have been tainted by chaos for ten thousand years, falling from an angel to a demon; wouldn’t I know what that is? This process is simply adding fuel to the fire, a dead end.”
“But maybe, only chaos can combat chaos?”
“Is that what you think?”
“That’s how I think.”
Hela glanced at him, her expression slowly blossoming into a smile once more. Smiling, she said,
“Alright, go ahead and try. I will wait for you at the end of your failure and then take you away.”
“If that day comes.”
Hela did not respond to his words, seeming a bit irritated, retreating into the darkness without looking back, leaving Fisher unable to see her expression of disappointment at that moment.
Watching her back, Fisher couldn’t help but ask,
“If I want to contact you, what should I do?”
“Try calling ‘my dear’.”
“Really, just like that?”
“Just kidding. I won’t meet you until before your failure, and I’m not always watching you; I have other things to do.”
“…”
The next moment, the surrounding darkness suddenly vanished like a tide, revealing the two demon attendants lying unconscious on the ground in the dim shipyard.
The shipyard fell eerily silent, and only Fisher gazed at the place where Hela had disappeared, lost in his thoughts.
