Chapter 615: The Real Culprit
“. Hela?”
Fisher covered his chest, seemingly feeling a slight breeze brushing against his exposed muscles. He looked down and realized that his clothes had been completely removed, revealing a palm-sized swirling scar that had strangely appeared on his previously robust chest.
At this moment, the supplement handbook that had been with him all along had inexplicably reduced to just two volumes: the Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans and the Life Completion Manual.
Jahl Uzz’s Soul Supplement Handbook had completely vanished, its whereabouts unknown.
Thinking of this, Fisher wanted to reach out and touch the scar, but before he got close, he felt a piercing pain emanating from his soul, and a sound resembling crashing waves faintly reached his ears. His palm was also grabbed by a delicate white hand, halting him in mid-air.
That was the place where he had been engulfed by chaotic substances resembling black mud. They had not disappeared, but seemed to have completely merged with his body.
“It’s me, my dear. That place is still unstable; don’t touch it.”
Fisher lifted his gaze, and the angel before him was now sitting on the edge of the bed, turned sideways to him.
Her raised right hand grasped Fisher, while the other hand flipped the book she had been reading over on the bed, revealing the text from Saint Nali on its cover.
It seemed to be a fantastical travel memoir from the pioneering period of Saint Nali, but Fisher had never read it and didn’t know its specific content.
In her side-sitting posture, she slightly raised her legs, which were partially concealed by her white robe, revealing more skin that had been hidden underneath earlier.
She observed Fisher as he looked around after calling for her and slowly fell silent upon realizing this was his palace.
Having just awakened, Fisher might still have been slightly dazed, or perhaps afraid to confirm what the current situation really was. But Hela could see that he had some questions that urgently needed answers from her.
As she noticed his lips tremble with the intent to ask something, Hela’s long golden lashes lowered slightly, and she spoke about the present situation.
“Don’t look anymore; Raphael has been sent back to the surface by me. After the corrupted blessing on her was burned away, the bloodline of Fei in her body completely awakened, beginning the process of stepping into the Mythical Rank. However, the aura of the death authority within the dynasty is too overwhelming for her, acting as an obstacle, which caused her advancement to stagnate, and she hadn’t awakened until just now. So Eil had no choice but to send her to the surface; he just left and hasn’t returned yet.”
Not looking at Fisher, Hela spoke with a slight, casual smile, “As for the others, also ascending is that whale-woman, the daughter of the Demon God, who is responsible for watching over and taking care of Raphael. And your friend with the supplement handbook has crawled out of the magma and is now waiting for you outside my palace with Emhart. You know, that little one is very afraid of me.”
Upon hearing that Raphael was safe, Fisher felt a massive weight lift from his heart, and he exhaled, gaining a rough understanding of the current situation.
Since Hela said that Eil was the one who sent them, it indicated that Barbatos had also been defeated by Eil, and Ag had been unable to confront the chaotic entity sealed within him. In the last moment, he managed to rescue Raphael from the black mud, but before losing consciousness, he couldn’t remember how Hela helped Raphael or what the final result was.
However, at least it seemed that this series of chaotic events that had begun since his return finally came to a pause.
And the instigator of all these events was now sitting just in front of him, within reach.
Fisher couldn’t help but glance at the calm Hela who was gazing at him, capturing her stunning profile and the ear peeking out from her golden curls.
It seemed that only at this moment did Fisher truly confirm that she existed, and it felt as if this was their first meeting since he returned from ten thousand years ago, even though she had earlier communicated with him through those two familiars from the Red Dragon Court.
He thought that everything prior felt unreal.
“.”
The complexity of emotions inside Fisher was unspeakable, so he could only replace it with silence, carefully observing the time that had separated them for ten thousand years.
Ten thousand years had not left any traces on her; she remained as beautiful as ever, but with an added strong aura of death authority around her.
And aside from her beauty, her image was entirely shrouded in an air of mystery, making it difficult for him to see or comprehend.
He didn’t even expect that the series of confrontational questions and grievances he had thought of in his heart would not come out, leaving only the unspeakable gaze between them.
She continued to graciously allow Fisher to admire her beauty with his eyes, but at that moment, he was not appreciating her beauty, but rather scrutinizing her soul.
After a long while, it was Fisher who could no longer hold back and finally spoke, expressing a concern he hadn’t anticipated.
“Why do you have the aura of death authority on you? It’s so strong?”
Hela raised an eyebrow, appearing somewhat surprised, then replied, “I thought you would ask more about Raphael. But since you asked, I’ve been so focused on this plan after your return that I didn’t realize Solomon has been secretly collecting the ten pillars’ marks while I wasn’t around for these thousands of years.”
Hela roughly informed Fisher of Solomon’s actions and subsequent handling methods, but after listening, Fisher remained silent, just staring at Hela.
“. Hela, are you speaking the truth?”
Fisher lowered his gaze slightly, not looking directly into her bright blue-gold eyes, but suddenly asked such a question. Hela tilted her head and replied, “Why do you ask that?”
“Just a feeling. I felt angry earlier, but now it’s turned into hesitation. Because of my feelings for you, my greed, and the debts from making you wait have always made me believe your words. But I’m increasingly baffled by what your intentions truly are. I can’t discern whether what you’re saying to me now is sincere or just a prelude to your next unknown scheme.”
Fisher slowly raised his eyes and locked onto Hela’s appearance, which was indistinguishable from his memories.
“Sometimes it’s hard for me to tell whether you are Baemon, the Demon God others speak of, or Hela, the angel in my eyes. It’s as if during the ten thousand years we were apart, you have become the anonymous Demon God, only during our time together were you Hela. Or have you long since transformed into that dreaded Demon God, while I, this fool returned from ten thousand years ago, naively believe you are the same as before?
“Can you tell me, who stands before me now? Is it Baemon or Hela?”
Hela’s eyes blinked slightly, then she lowered her head to look at the book she had read halfway through.
She didn’t read its content; she slowly closed the overturned book and softly said, “I have always been your Hela.”
“Bang!”
Fisher frowned, inching closer to Hela. He tried his best to suppress his emotions, yet couldn’t hide his excitement. Until the next moment, he finally couldn’t hold back anymore and grabbed her shoulders, pulling her back abruptly.
She did not resist; instead, her slightly widened, jewel-like blue-gold eyes reflected Fisher’s face. In the next second, that reflection suddenly drew closer, forcefully pinning her down on the bed. The golden curls on her forehead fell like broken roses.
Fisher lowered his gaze as the questioning in his eyes became like a beast, the veins on his forehead bulging. But he still tried to keep his tone calm, to what extent he managed to remain calm would need a third party to judge. He reluctantly asked, “Then why did you devise such a scheme? Why harm others? Don’t you realize that many would die because of this? This time, it’s the plan of the Dragon Court; what about before that? Before I returned to the past, before I met you, had you already been by my side? Aren’t all the irreversible things you’ve done while I was unaware?!
“I know you are a mythical being, a life form much older and more powerful than me. You are stronger in power and more knowledgeable. But does that mean you see me as a clueless child? You treat me as an infant without opinions, and you are my guardian deciding everything for me? Why won’t you tell me everything? What are you doing all this for?”
These questions, the issues Fisher needed to confirm, spilled out from him, but they were perhaps not just questions, but the tumult of emotions he felt at that moment.
His fingers tightened on Hela’s shoulders as if trying to embed them within her body, hoping she would give him an answer.
“I am doing this to save you. Raphael is the key to awakening the apocalypse. She should have died in Feilon City five years ago. Even if you saved her, even without me, the blessing within her would eventually ignite and lead to destruction. Only if she dies can you escape this vortex, and the call to destruction will be postponed.”
“Are you making excuses? Using unfulfilled possibilities as justification for your actions? If it weren’t for you muddying the waters, if you hadn’t released the demons to threaten her and her Dragon Court, how would the blessing of the Dragon God within her ignite?!”
“Are you sure, my dear?”
Hela only smiled at Fisher, or rather, at his chest.
Fisher looked down at the swirling scar on his chest in disbelief. Through his flesh, he saw the chaos within and began to understand some difficulties.
Fei’s blessing given by Dalasgon was evidently to fulfill his duty of guarding the crevice. Such a blessing wouldn’t have destructive properties. But now it had genuinely turned into the call to destruction because it had been tainted by the soul disaster formed by Jahl Uzz during the mythological war, ultimately becoming a weapon of attack against the crevice.
This meant that as long as the Soul Supplement Handbook existed, the chaos within it remained, and the ignition of Raphael’s blessing was an inevitable consequence.
“I already said, five years ago, her blessing was on the verge of ignition. It should have erupted in Feilon City. But at that time, you saved her. Yes, you did save her, extending her life. But that polluted blessing still shows no sign of relief. The only reason is that four and a half years ago, you were forced to take the supplement handbook back to the past to expel it. Your departure caused the Soul Supplement Handbook to vanish from this timeline, and she lived peacefully for four and a half years because of that.
“Yes, I prepared everything in these four and a half years, but do you really think it was my actions that caused the ignition of her blessing? Even if I did nothing, within those few months you were back and with her, her blessing would have suddenly erupted again, influenced by the Soul Supplement Handbook, igniting the Apocalypse Prophecy, and she would die in her sleep.”
Fisher’s grip on Hela’s shoulder gradually weakened. The muscles in his face twitched slightly, and then he said, “Raphael is merely the surface of destruction; the essence of destruction lies in those supplement handbooks, in the chaos hidden within them.”
“Yes, my dear. You always manage to discern the essence of problems beyond mere appearances. But so what?”
Hela stood still, allowing him to control her, her once-smiling expression gradually turned more subdued but did not entirely vanish, casting a shadow over that smile.
“Oh, then you will obviously search and read all the supplement handbooks, because you have discovered your own special ability; those handbooks that mean destruction and poison to others, you can read more than one and control the chaos they create, just like you are doing now? Do you think choosing this path will be easy? As long as those women you hold dear are unharmed, it’s all fine, right?
“You have no idea what that would mean, or what you would lose, what kind of pain you would face. You think you can be special enough that your mere presence would make the chaos behind those handbooks submit to you? No, you will only die in the most tragic and painful way, losing everything in the process. This time, merely Raphael’s death will completely eliminate the blessing of destruction within her, and you can completely escape from the sea of suffering.”
Fisher frowned and retorted, “Escape? Can you really escape like that? Can you eliminate the Apocalypse Prophecy relying on the sacrifice of Raphael? Other supplement handbooks still exist; without resolving the essence, you, I, and all living beings in this world will face destruction!”
“The purpose of the Apocalypse Prophecy is to demonstrate that the process of annihilation will be a chain reaction, all of it is interconnected, and Raphael is the premise of it all. The moment the blessing within her burns the crevice to nothingness, the barrier between reality and the spirit realm will shatter, and at that time, the ironclad rule that ‘deities cannot interfere with reality’ will soon be broken. This rule is not just a regulation to restrict the actions of the gods; it is the strongest protection for this world, and all of this is about to change due to the complete burning of the crevice.
“As long as the Apocalypse Prophecy does not ignite, the power of chaos cannot penetrate the foundations of this world. Even with those supplement handbooks, it will ultimately not lead to deadly destruction. And the gods will still exist; if the Apocalypse Prophecy cannot be initiated and the True Gods are still powerless, can you manage to succeed?”
Fisher paused slightly, as at this moment, he suddenly remembered what Renee said during their earlier meeting.
She said, “We already have a solution to the Apocalypse Prophecy.”
If he chose to believe this group of deities who created the world, perhaps Hela’s plan to kill Raphael to alleviate destruction was indeed worth discussing. At least it seemed that the burning of the crevice would certainly be disadvantageous to them.
“. But this time I succeeded; I successfully sealed the chaos of the soul within me, and the Soul Supplement Handbook has disappeared.”
“Yes, but maybe it’s just your luck, and the source of chaos does not intend to make things difficult for you? Next time, you may not be so fortunate.”
“Are you implying that, but why wouldn’t they make things difficult for me?”
Hela merely smiled at Fisher, her blue-gold scattered pupils remained still, seemingly reading that Fisher didn’t believe the source of chaos had let him off, her smile contained a hint of exasperation and unreadable affection.
“Who knows? That’s just what I think, lucky fool.”
The annoying angel in front of him was evidently mocking him. Fisher gritted his teeth, wanting to retort, but she had already shaken her head and said, “However, you don’t need to argue with me about what to do anymore. My plan has failed, and the blessing within Raphael has already begun to burn the crevice. No matter how I try to persuade you, it’s impossible. Or rather, I never intended to convince you to sacrifice Raphael because I know that’s not possible. That’s why I decided to be the villain myself to prevent you from having to choose.
“If you want to blame someone, blame me. Blame me for almost putting your Raphael in danger, even if it was for your escape from the sea of suffering. Sometimes I really hope that I did all this just to satisfy my possessiveness, that I killed those women who coveted the Fisher that originally belonged only to me ten thousand years ago out of jealousy, as a ridiculous reason to ease your heart. But unfortunately, I don’t care about them, and they won’t care about me, so… let it be.”
As she spoke, she let out a long sigh, softly murmuring a line before simultaneously closing her eyes. Beneath those lightly dismissive words, Fisher could not read whether she felt disappointed, as everything she had prepared had gone to waste.
She turned her head and did not resist Fisher. With her slight movement, her vulnerable neck was entirely exposed to Fisher, as if awaiting him to snap it.
“.”
Fisher remained silent for a moment, his hands gradually moving away from her shoulders, but Hela remained motionless, appearing as if she was tired and wanting to rest, even her long golden lashes were unwilling to move.
“Raphael is pregnant.”
“. Oh, should I congratulate you, my dear?”
Hela didn’t open her eyes and instead lifted her feet, which had been resting on the floor, onto the bed. She gently pulled the covers Fisher had tossed over her and wrapped it around herself, curling up, then blinked and smiled as she looked at Fisher and asked.
“I don’t want to lose everything I’ve gained, even if it means losing myself. This is how I feel now, and I felt the same during my time in the Ideal Nation. So, I’m sorry for disappointing you, Hela.”
Hela’s curled body turned in the covers. Due to curling, the blanket blocked half of her face, only her blue-gold eyes gazing at Fisher. From them, Fisher still couldn’t discern whether she felt disappointed or not, of course, he couldn’t read any hint of apology.
Perhaps for Hela, considering Fisher’s feelings was a matter of course, but that did not mean she would concern herself with other women.
She merely looked at Fisher before suddenly asking, “If my plan had truly succeeded and I had killed Raphael, would you never forgive me, even if it meant you could survive?”
“.”
Fisher opened his mouth, looking at her lying beside him, but he remained silent for a long time.
After a long while, he felt her hand reach out from under the blanket, coldly grasping two of his fingers.
“Unfortunately, I know that it’s me who knows everything and has the power to save you, not her. Because I can determine the answer you were about to say just now, and I can also confirm whether, if the situation were reversed, she would sacrifice me to save you. Yet, suddenly, I’m not sure if afterwards, you wouldn’t forgive her, who is pregnant, just as you wouldn’t forgive me.”
“.”
Fisher fell silent, lowering his head, lifting his other hand to wrap around the hand that was coldly gripping his fingers, then softly said, “I will not forgive myself, that would be the same this time.”
“Shh.”
Her curled body inched closer to Fisher, like a little deer that nestled around him. She murmured somewhat indistinctly, “I suddenly feel a bit sleepy, like this is the first time in ten thousand years.”
“. What is it like for an angel to spend ten thousand years?”
“I don’t know; perhaps it has been less than thirty years for me?”
Fisher couldn’t help but chuckle, then asked in return, “Really? Is an angel’s perception of time that vague?”
“Hmm, after all, your thirtieth birthday hasn’t arrived yet.”
Fisher opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but his throat caught. He didn’t let go of Hela; instead, he felt the coldness coming from her fingertips and instinctively tightened his grip slightly.
He chose not to speak any further, merely sighed and silently gazed at the sight of her closing her eyes.
Examining the two culprits in this room—himself and her.
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(End of Chapter)
