Chapter 609: 87. I Killed You (Combined)
“Do you know? Back in the Feimabaha Dragon Court, there was also a poor sucker like you who thought he could succeed with the chaotic knowledge inside him. As a result, he left nothing but ruin and destruction in this world.”
“Whoosh…”
The rain poured down through the portal, falling into the Demon Dynasty, drenching Fisher, whose body was continually emitting black mud, and Ag who stood in front of him. Ag’s arm was firmly wrapped by him, unwilling to let go. While Ag’s expression remained calm, she knew all too well that she was forced to expend all her energy to resist the soul-draining sensation coming from Fisher’s black mud.
She looked upward and guessed that since Barbatos had not sent any news in a long time, his battle with Eil must not have been going smoothly. He probably wouldn’t have the chance to bring the Dragon Race down.
“What do you think that Trans named Jahl Uzz was thinking before being consumed by chaos? I heard that by the time he was being hunted by the Dragon God and fled, his mind was already unclear. You’re in a similar situation to him, so why can’t you tell me what you think now, and what he thought back then?”
“…”
Fisher gritted his teeth and lowered his head, not responding to Ag’s words. However, his consciousness unknowingly circulated along the scenes she described. He saw once again the demigod roaring at “himself” over the Feimabaha Dragon Court.
That day, the rain drizzled incessantly, identical to today’s weather. Even Fisher, standing still, seemed to have transformed into that powerless “Jahl Uzz” kneeling on the ground.
“Trans, how many times are you going to provoke me? What on earth do you want?!”
“I… I want to break free from my fate. Dragon God, let me enter the Spirit Realm, I’m so close, just a little more…”
Jahl Uzz’s expression grew increasingly desperate, for it was only until recently that he understood everything about chaotic knowledge.
As Fisher had seen, his notes contained much of what he thought while researching chaotic knowledge, but these thoughts were inevitably delayed because they had been pre-written in the completion manual.
In the manual, he didn’t provide detailed accounts of everything he saw in his previous life, nor did he tell Fisher what exactly his “abyss of consciousness” said to him. He also failed to write why, after going through so many memories of his past lives, he still stubbornly wanted to enter the Spirit Realm.
Yet at this moment, the chaos that filled Fisher’s body revealed all the answers.
Before Jahl Uzz appeared a pair of mother and daughter with golden hair and blue eyes, and Fisher almost recognized them at a glance—they were Jahl Uzz’s deceased wife and daughter.
But soon after, the appearance of those two began to change continuously. They transformed from a pair of smiling humans into two lumps of organic life of different sizes covered in slime. However, in Jahl Uzz’s eyes, they remained as dear as ever. Then they began to change shape, shifting from normal carbon-based life to somewhat strange silicon-based life, from an extremely large cosmic camel to incredibly tiny two-dimensional beings, until those two figures became a blurred existence, a concept: lost love.
Jahl Uzz painfully clutched his head and fell to the ground, black mud continuously oozing from his mouth and nose.
His soul—he had once entered the souls of countless civilizations and countless races—found that each life was suffering through the pain of separation repeatedly.
It was as if he had experienced a lifetime with every sentient being in the universe, all having gained these beautiful feelings, which humans could understand or could not, yet were destined to be lost for some unknown reason.
Was this destined? Was he truly that unlucky to face such suffering at every moment of every life?
Or was everything he did secretly manipulated by some powerful deity, mocking him as he recalled his past life, piling up these sorrows until they became desperate pain?
Yes, Jahl Uzz gradually understood that it took a strong consciousness across countless worlds to become…
To become, the “Base of the Ocean.”
The figures of Jahl Uzz and Fisher seemed to transcend thousands of years in time and started to overlap. Jahl Uzz, who had waited so long for the mission interrupted by the Dragon God, finally birthed from the chaotic knowledge into Fisher. It seemed that at that moment, Fisher also inherited the extreme despair that Jahl Uzz had felt before his death.
This pain bursting from the source of consciousness seemed to want to melt him. He instinctively wanted to reject this process, but in front of him, Ag seized the opportunity as he bowed his head, struggling against the chaos within him, and suddenly severed her limbs that were entangled by the black mud, preparing to fly away from here herself to bring back that Dragon Race.
“Come back!”
As if moving instinctively, Ag, who had just detached herself, was still catching her breath when the black mud continually leaking from her body began to spread out, extending several meters in an instant. The formless Fisher finally relinquished the human form he had been maintaining and began to shift towards the true form of his soul.
The spreading black mud emitted an extremely dangerous aura, extending countless appendages like tentacles. The moment those appendages appeared, Ag’s pupils slightly constricted, for in the next second, she watched helplessly as her body “ran” out of sight.
No, it wasn’t right; her soul had been captured by that black mud!
Ag gritted her teeth, no longer caring about the task of retrieving Raphael, and quickly summoned all her strength to merge her body with her soul, defending against the attack of the black mud.
This black mud could directly negate the characteristics of a mythical being with soul and body unity?!
Even though demons are somewhat reduced in this aspect due to having chaotic power within them compared to other mythical beings, even so, to directly separate soul and body was a bit too exaggerated, wasn’t it?
Ag’s gaze grew serious. She formed a specific hand sign, and instantly, countless roots of a locust tree sprouted from within her body, wrapping around her tightly. The black mud, in its stupidity, dragged her down hard into its encirclement, yearning to pull her out from those roots and devour her soul.
“Alright, let me see if it’s me who found your Dragon Race first and brought her before you, or if you lose your reason and completely swallow me.”
“…”
Looking at the strange black mud beneath her, Ag’s forehead dripped with cold sweat, and yet her eyes involuntarily sparkled with a particularly excited light. Taking advantage of the protection of the locust tree’s roots beside her, she chuckled and reached her hand into the black mud below.
She intended to deconstruct this chaotic specific composition, as the chaotic essence of the Duke of Peach was fully grasped by her.
If the authority of Ramastia were to be named, using “Bestow Life” would actually be more appropriate, as its essence lies in granting pure vitality. Therefore, most of the life force circulating within the beings of this world is unified; while the knowledge corresponding to the Life Completion Manual’s authority, described as “Chaotic Life,” is more fitting; it excels in distorting and altering life into necessary reasonable forms.
Ag had confidence in her “curious” nature and understanding of life chaos, thus at this moment daring to directly reach her hand into the black mud spreading from Fisher to analyze its authority composition.
“Thousands of years ago, the Dragon God perished due to the soul disaster spreading inside you. Only a fool could reason that if I decipher all the chaos within, both you and your Dragon Queen will become the nourishment for my dynasty’s revival!”
Fisher watched her coldly as countless black mud surged towards him, and Ag’s right hand began to distort, bursting forth with a rich power of destiny to buy her time for analysis of the chaotic authority.
She scoffed and twisted her right hand, continuously changing hand seals. In the next moment, a pure elven language was uttered from her lips:
“Elven Secret Technique: Mud Ball Palace.”
In the instant the secret technique formed, Ag’s head twisted violently, turning the surrounding space into a vortex, before exploding, directly splitting into countless terrifying visible spatial cracks that cut toward Fisher.
The black mud on the ground was utterly chaotic, completely unaffected by the spatial force before him. Still, Fisher’s barely transformed true form was the one to suffer, as the rapidity of the attack made Fisher hardly able to dodge. He could only awkwardly twist his body, but still lost his right arm and one foot.
“Ugh!”
The severed limbs sank into the black mud, and the pain intensified Fisher’s eroded sanity. Gritting his teeth, he braced his body, as countless black mud continued to drag Ag’s locust tree downwards.
“Isn’t your true form already obvious? Why do you still want to maintain your human appearance? Is it because you can’t bear to part with your handsome face?”
Within the spatial rifts scattered by the elven secret technique, it seemed that Ag’s thoughts were tainted, unleashing scenes contaminating the real spatial realm, as countless figures from the mythical wars emerged, overshadowing her smiling figure.
In fact, Fisher also knew he could no longer be considered human. Just from those severed limbs melting away into the black sludge, one could tell this point.
But he genuinely did not dare to abandon what seemed to be an overly sentimental line at this moment, especially as his mind was still resisting the chaos that was about to become the foundation; if he lost physical form, he hardly dared imagine what would happen to his consciousness.
However, Raphael had not arrived for so long, clearly indicating that Eil had helped him.
In that case…
Fisher sneered, and the black mud in his body and beneath him became increasingly restless. Soon, it surged toward the distance, swallowing everything in its path and extracting the surrounding souls.
Through the chaotic spatial phenomena of the Mud Ball Palace secret technique, Fisher saw many figures from the Tree Continent—Duke of Peach, now transformed into a towering, twisted giant tree; countless angels descending from the sky to deliver divine punishment; the Heavenly Lock; the Dragon God roaring as they battled their kin; and finally, that devastating golden blade shadow that overturned the continent.
But none of these phantoms had souls!
The only being with a true soul was that character, Ag!
The black mud seemed to instantly find its direction, simultaneously eroding Fisher’s consciousness while coiling into a massive serpent that lunged at Ag hiding behind the spatial rifts.
“Ugh, what a hassle.”
Ag’s left hand remained submerged in the black mud, meaning she had to face three fronts.
First, there was the direct soul-devouring force from the black mud she was touching, which required a lot of her strength for defense; secondly, there was the analysis of the authority behind the chaotic black mud, which also required plenty of energy; finally, she had to deal with Fisher’s chaotic attacks, which actually consumed the least effort.
Because Fisher’s rank was not high, even with the soul chaos as an unfair advantage, it was undoubtedly a double-edged sword for him, as he was constantly subject to its interference.
Ag was confident she could defeat him, for the true nature of the chaotic authority in her hand was becoming increasingly clear!
Sensing this distinct advantage, Ag’s right hand twisted again, extracting a twisted sword-shaped angelic relic from her body. Behind her, the chaos of life began to twist, generating the structures resembling angelic halos and wings.
She was simulating the angel’s structure to fully unleash the power of the relic she held.
“This item is a treasure of Archangel Michael; I put in quite a lot of effort to obtain it.”
“Multi-Headed Magic to Slay Dragons!”
Fisher’s muttering resonated with Ag’s sword, seemingly igniting with the purifying holy flame of justice. Until countless ebony electric spears began to burst forth from the spreading black mud, matching Fisher’s blurry consciousness, Ag raised her sword high.
With countless flames pouring down, just as the lightning enveloped her, that fire completely wrapped and scorched him.
“Ughhhh!”
“Hey hey, keep it up and you’ll be the one at a disadvantage.”
For Ag, exchanging injuries with Fisher was a sure-win investment; her rank was above his, and she had complete chaotic life knowledge within her, enhancing her recovery ability and durability beyond Fisher’s. Moreover, it appeared that his sanity was on the verge of collapse.
More critically, because she had bought enough time, she had finally sensed the authority contained within that black mud!
She scoffed and her consciousness plunged into the chaotic world. Unlike the restlessness and howling that followed her reading of the life-changing authority, this place was exceptionally quiet. In the endless darkness, only the sound of waves rhythmically crashing against the shore could be heard.
“Whoosh whoosh… whoosh.”
Standing on the shore, Ag smiled slightly, then extended her hand toward the dark ocean, calling upon the power corresponding to its chaotic essence.
As long as she could sense it, she could simulate and wield it.
She had won!
“Lala… lalala.”
In the next moment, a distant song resonated from that dark ocean, unclear in its specific meaning and tone, reminiscent of the Sirens’ song that lured sailors in ancient legends, but a thousand times more terrifying.
What would rise slowly from beneath that sea surface was the “nature” corresponding to its deity, that is, the authority.
First to emerge was that ethereal existence, seeming to rise from within Ag herself.
Then came a massive, endlessly cyclical moon, in the shape of ∞.
Upon seeing the second image manifest, Ag’s gaze suddenly contracted, for it was exceedingly rare to see the emergence of more than one authority; even in the last encounter with the source of life chaos, she had not seen a second one.
In all her long life, the only being she had seen with more than one authority was the world’s chief deity, Lord Ramastia, and that time she nearly lost her life.
She swallowed hard, an unprecedented sense of foreboding arising, for at the moment the moon appeared, the deep ocean’s agitation showed no signs of stopping.
“Whoosh!”
In the next instant, countless pale, unknown limbs began to surface, carrying one vision after another into view. Even the ground beneath Ag, and the distant sky above her, began to reveal numerous flickering eyes and countless mouths opening to speak.
They watched her, waiting for her insatiable curiosity to explore, but Ag’s mind was blank, completely filled with a sense of horror and shock.
“Who are you…”
“Lala… lalala.”
A tsunami-like song crashed down, and Ag, versed in this realm, reacted swiftly, momentarily abandoning that thought to break free. But that wasn’t enough; she quickly extended her hand to try to sever that portion of her soul that had been stained by what she had just seen.
Souls could be damaged; Anna had proven this earlier on the Western Continent. The parts that had been implanted from her sisters contained parts of their souls, just like a Dragon’s horn. When separating that part from its original body would pose no threat to life.
At this moment, Ag decisively resolved to cut off that polluted soul containing everything she had just comprehended, employing the tactic of preserving the main body. Moreover, for them, as beings with unified body and soul, it was simpler.
But it was still too late.
“Bang!”
Her head exploded entirely. She had tried to sever it, but her hand had already sunk into her neck, yet she was still unable to block the chaotic invasion, hurling her consciousness into a hell-like meat grinder torment.
“Ahhhh!”
“Boom!”
Even without a head, the chaos of her consciousness caused her body to grow mouths and facial features, becoming twisted, as if losing strength, she was pushed into the nearby rock wall by the black mud.
In fact, moments ago, Ag had a better solution.
If she had fully unleashed her power and truly sought an opportunity to escape from the out-of-control Fisher, the probability of Fisher successfully blocking her would not be 100%.
However, at this crucial moment, her “curious” old habit resurfaced, driven by her nature, she constantly drew closer to that unknown mysterious power, just as she had been attracted to the chaotic power emanating from the Duke of Peach.
Moreover, she had successfully studied the essence of chaos; at that time, she had made careful preparations and finally glimpse the power behind that chaotic authority. It gave her confidence, causing her to overlook Fisher, ultimately leading to a disastrous fate.
Even though Fisher’s physical condition was dire, seeing Ag, lying on the cavern floor, twitching and struggling to regenerate her body yet unable to do anything, he slowly relaxed the tension in his heart, which was also subjected to the most intense backlash from chaos.
“Heh heh.”
He gasped, as if countless steel nails were digging deep into his head, stirring him into a whirlpool of despair multiplied innumerably. This sense of buildup colored his memories, allowing him to vividly recall the day Teresa died, to return to the day he broke away from Elizabeth in Saint Nali and began to flee.
He covered his face, as if wanting to cry, but that felt unlike tears, for the desperation was incredibly hot, nearly melting his body, making him feel both strange and vague about himself.
Yet he was still too fragile; after several attempts to hold back, he couldn’t prevent tears from falling. As the “tears” began to fall, Fisher’s palm unexpectedly felt that his entire face, along with his features, had started to thicken, dripping downward with gravity like human tears.
As this non-human transformation intensified, he could no longer contain the extreme pain and despair, relinquishing his consciousness to chaos.
The human façade he had been disguising himself under crumbled entirely in this moment. Perhaps since the day he began reading the Soul Supplement Handbook, from the point he realized the soul within him began to deform, he should have anticipated a day like this, but it was only when that day arrived that he realized he had overestimated his endurance.
The chaos within Fisher surged forth, pouring out in torrents, covering nearby rocks and lava in a sea of black, while his own soul seemed to be undergoing endless torment, even he, as strong as he was, could not help but groan.
“I’m so painful, I’m so uncomfortable, who will save me… Ah, I’m so scared. Teresa… Mother.”
Fisher grew increasingly fragile, as the black mud continuously surged from within him. A tender voice from deep inside echoed once more at an inappropriate moment:
“I’m here, don’t be afraid, dear.”
Cupid’s originally innocent and indistinct voice became ever so clearer.
With the emotionally laden word “dear,” its tone perfectly overlapped with Hela’s voice. Unfortunately, at this moment, Fisher had already lost clarity regarding everything outside and was oblivious to the evil presence that had descended beside him.
At the same time, before him, a breathtakingly beautiful face slowly emerged from the dark ocean. She was bare, her graceful form void of any attire, adorned with no ornaments or crowns, as if here only existed her body and her soul, nothing else.
She rose naked like a blue lotus, ascending from the filthy black mud yet untouched by its foulness. Gently, she opened her arms, embracing the suffering and despairing Fisher, melting away within her embrace as his body, now black mud, clung tightly to her fair skin, yet she still kept him close.
“Ugh… ugh…”
“Don’t be like this; just hold on a little longer, dear. Just wait a moment more… it’ll be alright, dear.”
Hela closed her eyes and held him, seemingly empathizing with all his pain. Her voice trembled as she spoke the tenderest, kindest words to comfort his soul, filled with anguish.
Listening to that soothing voice, reminiscent of a lullaby, Fisher’s consciousness gradually began to awaken, even if just a little; at least it was a sign of progress.
Now that Ag had been harmed by her nature and was in an unknown state of life or death, and Barbatos was hindered by Eil and unable to approach, Fisher’s consciousness became incrementally clearer.
Everything was so beautiful; only, fortunate fate would not always look kindly upon Fisher.
For at this very moment, above the portal of the dynasty, another fervent soul was worrying for him, about to enter into peril.
“Fisher?! Are you down there?! What’s wrong? Don’t scare me…”
“Whoosh…”
With the pouring rain, Raphael cautiously navigated through the storm laid down by Barbatos and finally caught sight of the unfolded portal, yet from afar, she could only see a vast expanse of crimson and black muck without directly perceiving the scene below.
Because of this, she hesitated up above, until she heard Fisher’s cries and moans, tormented by chaos below.
She hadn’t forgotten Eil’s warning just earlier, but Fisher’s moans grew more intense, especially when she heard him calling out for Teresa, calling for “Mother,” which he, as an orphan, should never have had to call. Raphael’s eyes flushed red, and she could bear it no longer, standing up.
Her feelings for her Suitable Tail Partner made it utterly impossible for her to abandon Fisher, even if Eil had warned her. She had witnessed her own mother become melancholic after losing her father, as if a large piece of meat had been carved out of her heart.
At that time, Raphael swore not to let any such partings occur among her kin ever again, which was why she had fought so hard.
Now that it was her turn to make a choice, should she turn and run, hiding in some unknown place, watching helplessly as her Suitable Tail Partner died to protect her?
No.
She couldn’t do it!
“Fisher, wait for me! I’m coming down!”
She fought to stand by his side equally; she never forgot that!
Summoning her red spear, she took a reckless step forward, leaping into the depths of the Demon Dynasty, where everything ahead was unknown. She had to rush to Fisher’s side immediately.
“Boom!”
Soon, she was enveloped by waves of steam heat as she descended into a space devastated by black mud and battle.
Her pupils slightly contracted as she gazed at the surging black mud below. A primal fear welled up from her soul, urging her to flee. So mid-air, she thrust her spear hard into the rock wall above.
Using inertia, she swayed her body to land on the edge of the Performance Gate, a place not yet consumed by this black mud.
Just as she landed, she swallowed a mouthful of saliva, forcing back the shivers pricking at her body, and shouted,
“Fisher! Fisher, where are you? I’m here to find you!”
“Heh.”
At that moment, behind Raphael, the twitching Ag weakly grew half a face and mouth. Her brain felt blank, and even if she entirely severed and forgot everything she had just seen, she still felt incredibly weak, already in a heavily injured state, unable to do anything.
Her newly grown eyes fluttered a bit, laboriously capturing the sight of Raphael before her. After a moment of silence, she sneered mockingly, resting her head on the ground, muttering,
“How effortlessly you’ve arrived…”
“You are a demon?!”
Raphael gritted her teeth, sharply pointing her spear at the fallen Ag, shouting angrily,
“Tell me! Where is my husband?! If anything happens to him, I will see to it that you die a miserable death!!”
“Ha, you two are truly devoted to each other… he is right there.”
Weakly extending her finger, Ag pointed towards the center of the sea of black mud behind Raphael.
Raphael froze for a moment, turning her head to look at the central position transformed into a sea of black mud.
There, she incredulously saw a figure continually melting into black mud; it seemed her instincts as a Suitable Tail Partner kicked in, or perhaps through repeated contact of their souls, and Raphael instantly recognized that figure was indeed Fisher.
In other words, this entire sea of black mud was Fisher?
Raphael’s face went pale, but her gaze remained fixed on the woman embracing that figure, who wore an expressionless face, turning her head to look at Raphael, then smiling slightly, saying,
“Nice to meet you, Raphael.”
But Raphael was already completely incensed by the sight of Fisher before her. Her eyes blazed as she lifted her spear, pointing it at the distant Fisher, disregarding the black mud that made her instinctively shudder beneath her feet. She shouted hoarsely at that figure,
“You bastard!! What have you done to Fisher?! I will kill you!!”
At that moment, the spear tip, imbued with the blood of the Dragon God, blazed with a divine light, filled with murderous intent, aiming directly at Hela’s head.
