Chapter 616: 94. Duke of Peach’s Guide to Chaos
“Knock knock knock!!”
“Hey, Baemon, you scoundrel, where have you hidden?! If you don’t come out, I’m going to smash your doghouse!”
Fisher stared at Hela for who knows how long, a few minutes, a dozen minutes, or maybe even longer, until he heard loud knocks and Eil’s voice coming from the wall beside him. Only then did he shift his gaze away from Hela, who seemed to be sleeping soundly in front of him.
Hela remained perfectly still, as if she hadn’t heard anything, except for a slight tremor in the fingers that Fisher was holding, silently indicating that she was awake.
Fisher glanced towards the direction of the noise and then softly spoke,
“Eil is outside.”
“…”
Hela continued to lie there motionless, resembling a small bird curled up in its feathers, already lost in dreamland.
Seeing that she was unresponsive, Fisher was about to gently release her hand and get up to look for Eil, but before he could let go, he felt her grip tighten even more, stopping him in his tracks.
Looking up, he saw her cheek nestled against the covers, yawning while slightly rolling her eyes, as if she regarded the outside stray cat scratching at the door and disturbing her sweet dreams as an annoyance.
“Ugh, horny cats are really annoying.”
“Are you talking about Eil?”
“Guess?”
“…”
Fisher, dark-faced, reached out to punish her, but Hela had already deftly released his hand and simultaneously appeared in front of a wall in the sealed room. She smiled at Fisher, who had grasped at nothing, and showed him her palm. Then, lightly tapping the wall, the entire wall suddenly opened, revealing a desk and a room full of bookshelves outside.
Eil was surveying the area in front of the desk. Upon seeing the wall with the painting of Hela’s silhouette swing open, she stormed in, casting a suspicious glance at the surroundings. After confirming there was nothing wrong with Fisher, she lifted her nose, sniffing for suspicious scents.
Perhaps she did this to prevent any possible future troubles?
“Eil, are you sealed again?”
“Yes, indeed.”
Eil shot Hela, who stood nearby, a resentful glare while raising her pair of remaining arms as she walked into the room, saying,
“Earlier, that young whale folk girl used some kind of base to release me. After things settled here, the base disappeared and I, along with Barbatos and the others, were all returned to the seal. The soul power you gave me is quite substantial; I should be able to stay out for a long while, right? Or do you prefer my original form?”
“Your original form?”
Fisher paused for a moment, remembering the vague image he hadn’t had time to scrutinize during an urgent moment—a towering figure, two meters tall, resembling a massive tiger with six arms, Eil.
What can I say? Thinking about it carefully, it should still be somewhat…
“Well, I suggest you don’t say such frightening things just after he has barely healed; it may make people uncomfortable.”
Eil turned around irritably to glare at the smiling Hela, her tail swaying behind her, and she coldly chuckled,
“You scoundrel, I haven’t settled accounts with you yet. Oh, I almost forgot—technically, you encountered Fisher first, so should I consider it stealing you and marking him first? So consider yourself lucky that I can’t be bothered to settle this rotten debt with you.”
Facing Eil, whose competitive spirit had suddenly surged, Hela smiled with a hint of sarcasm and replied,
“Rest assured, I’m very magnanimous; I’m not the kind of stray cat that pees everywhere to mark my territory.”
While saying this, her peripheral vision silently glanced at the new wooden chair that had replaced the old one outside by the desk wall. Eil paused and looked over, suddenly recalling something, and even with the current standoff with Hela, she became slightly embarrassed.
“…”
Eil’s sun-kissed skin faintly flushed, her tiger teeth tightening slightly.
This was quite inevitable; it had been too long since she had done anything, and having pent up emotions made it hard to hold back!
At this moment, Fisher, who had gotten off the bed, also noticed the newly replaced wooden chair outside the door, realizing that there was indeed a secret door at the end of the second floor leading to another room, and they were resting here.
This matter was done together by him and Eil, and if anyone should feel embarrassed, it should be the two of them.
However, since Fisher had done this more, he seemed calmer compared to Eil, and he could also use this moment to cover for Eil, who had just been humiliated by Baemon.
“So, does that mean the Demon Dynasty has reverted back to its previous state?”
“That wouldn’t be wrong, but it should be worse than before.” Eil said, shooting a glance at the smiling Hela, who remained silent. She felt that the way she was gazing at her was subtly insulting her; after giving her a glare, she continued, “Because Solomon opened the Ten Gates, the authority of death is more restless than any other time. Even though your human friend has closed the Ten Gates again and sealed Heya’s consciousness, the awakened authority cannot be reverted, so this surplus authority is currently with Baemon. Hehe, just like us, she will now be eternally imprisoned here to watch over death.”
Hela shrugged and added,
“But I should be freer than those demon gods sealed under the Mother, at least I can walk around the dynasty with my consciousness clear.”
“You scoundrel!”
Seeing Eil’s competitive spirit flare up once more, Hela waved her hand to calm her down like soothing a child, saying apologetically,
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to strike down your awareness that’s about to fade and return to sleep.”
She even repeated Eil’s catchphrase, which almost made Eil explode right there.
“Shut up, you rat crawling in the sewer!”
“Sorry, little cat in heat, did I touch your sore spot? But I’m an angel, right? While I was up in the Holy Realm, you were the one wriggling in the mud, weren’t you?”
“If you’re so capable, don’t come over here and then wait for the Holy Realm to fall and blow you up!”
It was explosive, and while they didn’t get into a fight, Fisher felt it was about time, but at that moment, he suddenly realized a blind spot and quickly asked Eil,
“Wait, you just said Solomon opened the Ten Gates to seek death, and then Holland closed those ten gates? And now he’s downstairs with Emhart?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“…”
To Fisher’s surprise, Holland was just as much a seeker of death as Solomon. He could have directly accomplished his objective back then, yet made a choice that was the complete opposite of Solomon’s. At this moment, he was waiting outside Hela’s palace for him.
Fisher contemplated for a moment, then stood up from the bed, rubbing his shoulder.
Though this situation had temporarily settled, he still felt somewhat unclear about the current state and the future. Just as Hela had said, he was only focused on the thought that “he must not let Raphael die” while being completely oblivious to the already initiated “Apocalypse Prophecy.”
He didn’t regret doing this, but planning for what was to come was still necessary, and before that, he needed to gain a basic understanding of the current situation.
Noticing both Eil and Hela’s gazes on him, Fisher happened to lock eyes with Hela’s blue-gold, dispersed pupils for a moment. After a brief pause, he continued,
“I need to meet him and check outside to see what the situation is now.”
“Okay, I’ll wait for you here, dear.”
“Tsk.”
Hela showed no intention of moving, while Eil beside her clicked her tongue in disgust, seemingly feeling a chill at the last term Hela used for Fisher, and then moved farther away from her, directly exiting the room to prepare to leave with Fisher.
By the bed, Hela had prepared clothes for Fisher, and he happened to see that it was a loose white robe in the standard Holy Realm style, the same one he had worn many years ago when he was with Hela.
He picked up the soft fabric and glanced at Hela leaning against the doorframe. She smiled faintly and explained inexplicably,
“Well, I’m also an angel who cherishes the past.”
Fisher paused slightly, and after Hela finished speaking, she prepared to leave to let him change clothes. Just then, he suddenly remembered the painting hanging below her and the note she had left behind.
Back in the Holy Realm, she had once spied on him while he was changing into the Holy Angel robe, although he hadn’t noticed anything at that time.
As he reflected on these random thoughts, Fisher swiftly changed into the Holy Realm robe, then tucked both completion manuals, which were only visible to him, inside the white robe. The rest of the items were neatly stored in the front page of the Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans, including the Fluid Sword’s hilt, which was small enough to fit within, as long as he closed it normally, he could store it.
Since discovering this method, Fisher had been using it as a sort of storage space, but unfortunately, it could only store items by “clipping” them and would fail if they exceeded the size of the Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans.
After putting the Life Completion Manual inside, he caressed the golden-glowing Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans, and upon feeling his touch, the manual began to grow warm, seemingly urging him to open it.
He raised an eyebrow and opened it, and a phantom text instantly appeared before his eyes,
[You have completed reading the Soul Supplement Handbook. Research progress on the biology of Sorceresses and the society of Dragon Race has reached 75%, meeting all the conditions to enter Mythical Rank sixteen!]
As the Supplement Handbook flickered with golden light, Fisher felt the pain in the vortex-like scar on his chest lessen significantly. It seemed to be pressed more firmly and deeply into his body by this golden light. Then, an energy returned from it, enough to change Fisher’s strength and alter his physical state.
[You have reached Mythical Rank sixteen. Progress to unlock Mythical Rank seventeen is: 0%]
[Unlock conditions: Read any Supplement Handbook while researching any two different kinds of Sub-Humans with at least one research progress above 50% (comprehensive research).]
Ah?
Research simultaneously? Must it be above 50%?
Isn’t this asking for Fisher’s life?
Upon thinking carefully, among those with over 50% research progress, who wasn’t a female closely related to him, making it difficult even to get along harmoniously, let alone research together?
It seems like the only one who might qualify is…
Fisher pondered for a moment, then began reading the pile of phantom texts that popped up below.
What progress had been made in researching the society and biology of Demons? Since he had already broken through the Mythical Rank, this time it didn’t grant any enhancements but instead provided two tangible items.
[You have unlocked the rewards: Ouyun’s Repair Oil, Guide to Chaos Manual.]
[Ouyun’s Repair Oil: Possesses “Construct Authority,” a treasure from the deity Ouyun, who hails from the unknown depths of space. Before He created the world, He had struck His sharpest weapon against the most solid armor, ultimately breaking the hammer He used to forge celestial bodies. This oil is what repaired the hammer, allowing it to fix all tools.]
[Contributor’s note: I heard it can also work as a male enhancement, but I haven’t tried it. You can give it a go and see if it works—hehe~]
[Guide to Chaos Manual: A handbook for recording and detecting chaos, a treasure of a powerful elf who hunted chaos but ultimately fell into it. The Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans will synchronize the chaotic knowledge you obtain while it can also detect the concentration of chaos, providing assistance to you.]
[Contributor’s note: What she fell into was not chaos, but endless responsibility.]
“…”
In Fisher’s silence, as a golden light flashed from the Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans, those two magical items suddenly appeared in his hands out of thin air.
This bottle of oil…
Hmm, it seems suitable for the Fluid Sword. Ever since it withered in the Ideal Nation, it hasn’t stood up since. Since this is a deity’s item, it should work on treasures that also come from Ramastia, right?
But what truly piqued Fisher’s interest was the last ancient manual written in elvish. This manual resembled a small scroll made from wood, yet in Fisher’s hands, it felt imbued with an unusual vitality, as if a piece of flesh was pulsating in his hand.
Opening the ancient pages, the first thing he saw was a pink peach blossom petal; thus, it became evident who the original owner of this Guide to Chaos was.
Beneath the peach blossom, there was another line of elvish text:
[Breaking the branches of six giant trees does not kill the giant trees; they will continue to grow until their branches are lush and bear evil fruit.]
“Trees, huh.”
Fisher paused for a moment, then laid open this manual, which, apart from the cover page, resembled a scroll, revealing a fan-shaped blank space that depicted the shapes of six trees—two above, four below.
The reason behind this arrangement was still unknown, but in Fisher’s hands, only two of the trees had names, one above and one below, respectively named:
[Sea of Consciousness], [Usurped Vessel].
The remaining trees were blank, while the two named trees were densely covered with branches and leaves, especially the one labeled [Sea of Consciousness], which was particularly lush, whereas the one labeled [Usurped Vessel] clearly had many fewer leaves.
Fisher quickly realized that these two trees correspond to the two completion manuals he currently possessed, one being the [Soul Supplement Handbook] and the other being the [Life Completion Manual].
As for why they carried these names on the trees, Fisher speculated that these titles likely referred to the true sources of chaotic powers or described the nature of that chaos.
Both possibilities were valid, but Fisher felt that the latter was more significant.
Because reflecting on his reading of the Soul Supplement Handbook, he often encountered that dark sea. Although Jahl Uzz had also referred to the true master of the Sea of Souls in this manner, it was likely a description by form; the same should apply to the Life Completion Manual.
Soon, Fisher discovered another oddity.
Although the tree corresponding to the Soul Supplement Handbook had branched out extensively, its branches and leaves seemed utterly motionless, in stark contrast to the lively leaves of the nearby Life Completion Manual.
At first, Fisher thought he was mistaken, but when he reached out to touch the tree of the “Usurped Vessel,” a pointed arrow extended from its swaying branches, seemingly a prompt, a guide.
It revealed a bloody word to Fisher, offering a clue:
“Treasured Object.”
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(The End of This Chapter)
