Chapter 663: 141. Funeral
“Don’t say I’ve changed; you just think the artificial eye in my eyes is a curse! A seducer, a vessel of chaos! But have you ever thought about what will happen if I lose my eyesight? I will become a blind cripple, a dying person trembling in pain and betrayal in the tent alone on the battlefield back then!
“If it weren’t for the artificial eye, I would have died in a daze on the border of Nali, choking on my cries as I helplessly chanted your name over and over until my breath was taken away; if it weren’t for the artificial eye, I’d be a pitiful worm now, begging you for a little love, miserably letting other women take mercy on me! Is this what satisfies you? Is this what makes you happy? Because then I wouldn’t cause you any trouble, even if you forsake one, two, or countless promises, what could I do, right?
Fisher’s pupils contracted, and his expression shattered under Elizabeth’s repeated questioning, the excessive inquiries and his previous firmness were all crushed by the sea breeze at this moment, turning into a subtle tremor that even mythical rank and chaotic life could not control.
Elizabeth forcefully gripped his collar, while Fisher’s hand at his side showed no reaction, merely swaying slightly, as if it received no signals from his brain.
At this moment, Emhart, who had been in Fisher’s arms, opened his mouth. His eyes were fixed on the broken Elizabeth before him, sighing as he wished to defend Fisher in this moment, after all, he had been by his side all along.
Although it was true that Fisher had acted like a human being, greedily possessing the hearts of others, he certainly didn’t neglect them as Elizabeth said, carelessly walking away after one night.
When Fisher returned from the past to the present, four and a half years had passed, and upon returning to Nali, he found Raphael’s Dragon Court invaded by demons, in a state of life and death. Even though he had decided to see Elizabeth upon his return, he still had to choose to stay during Raphael’s life-threatening crisis.
After returning to Nali, he indeed did not wish to avoid fulfilling the promise made four and a half years ago; he just didn’t want their affairs to ruin his deceased teacher’s funeral, yet he unexpectedly encountered Valentina there, which was not intentional.
Emhart squeezed himself out, determined to temporarily abandon his own safety to tell Elizabeth before him that Fisher had not forgotten their promise; he indeed let go of Valentina’s hand to stay behind for her.
But the next second, Fisher’s slightly trembling hand raised; he did not push away Elizabeth’s hand pulling at his collar but pressed the fidgety Emhart back into his arms, stopping his words.
Fisher could indeed explain, expressing his views on each of Elizabeth’s points one by one, saying he did not mean to, that he had not forgotten his promise to Elizabeth.
Even this honeymoon was like this; could it be that he truly did not want to spend this honeymoon with Elizabeth? Could he not even agree to such a simple matter?
It was just that when the Fate Lord told him that chaos was breeding in Elizabeth’s body, he genuinely feared and worried about repeating Raphael’s mistakes, afraid she would be ensnared and controlled by the Apocalypse Prophecy, just as Raphael had become fuel for the Apocalypse Prophecy, ultimately burning her to ashes.
However, this concern for Elizabeth’s safety overshadowed his significance on the honeymoon. Did this mean he was unwilling to give Elizabeth even a honeymoon?
Yet, clearly, there was so much to explain and defend, especially since much of what Elizabeth accused him of was subjective in her view; why could Fisher not say anything at all?
Because, following the promises that had been “betrayed” in Elizabeth’s eyes all over again, he had no intention of betraying their honeymoon promise, nor the promise to return to meet Elizabeth.
So, let me ask, did he betray the promise made during their secret lifetime vow of “to have each other forever”?
Understanding Elizabeth so well, Fisher nearly instantly realized that all the agreements and promises she enumerated were, in essence, just one.
What was it to agree to return and see her? What was the honeymoon? It all merely served as a false shadow of that original promise.
Fulfilling these commitments would not erase that first promise; on the contrary, if Fisher only fulfilled that one commitment, it wouldn’t matter if all the other promises went unfulfilled because Elizabeth would be satisfied.
But this most fundamental and crucial promise was the one Fisher had truly betrayed.
He had someone else, and so it was impossible to forever possess only each other, which meant that from now on, no matter how devoted he was to Elizabeth, everything that once belonged to her would be taken by others.
For a long time, Fisher had resolved to give everything for the women connected to his own greed, for their safety, for their happiness, even to the point of wishing to prevent any danger from befalling other women, as if such actions could compensate for the sin of his greed.
But the problem is, when you stab someone viciously with a knife, does pulling the knife out and stabbing yourself, be it once, twice, or even countless times to kill yourself, mean that the person you stabbed would feel no pain?
Moreover, for Elizabeth, it might seem like Fisher had stabbed her countless times, while he himself suffered barely any wounds.
From another perspective, was it only Elizabeth who felt this way?
What about the other women?
Raphael, Jasmine, Valentina.
No, it wasn’t that they didn’t feel it; they merely hadn’t expressed it to Fisher.
Fisher couldn’t help but think back to when Raphael learned that Jasmine had affections for him, the restrained, cautious tears, the humble plea from Aria’s mother, and Jasmine’s murmurs within the Demon Dynasty.
Even though he returned with Elizabeth, and Elizabeth was still not satisfied, what about Valentina, who wished to take him away but watched him let go of her to go with Elizabeth?
Are these feelings things that don’t exist without being said? Do they only take form once Elizabeth expresses them today?
They kept quiet merely because they had never been on equal footing with Fisher in their emotions, but it doesn’t mean those feelings didn’t exist.
Upon further reflection, did these matters exist fixed once he committed the sin of greed? Or could these feelings be erased through subsequent efforts, making each of them content?
Would his current insufficient power in the struggle against the Apocalypse Prophecy, and his struggle in the Spirit Realm amidst the invasion of outer gods, be enough?
Fisher suddenly thought, if he had divine power, or even more unimaginable power than them, would such situations not occur?
Hypothetically, if the artificial eye that Elizabeth possessed were merely an ordinary sacred object, and she was just a secular queen instead of a harbinger of chaos, when she saw the mythical rank of Fisher before her, would her despair and anger have eased? Would there be any changes because of his power?
“.”
Fisher opened his mouth, but looking at her hollow and shattered eyes, it seemed he saw her soul from within, the soul that always looked him in the eye.
At that moment, he seemed to know the corresponding answer, no longer seeking answers from the unknown.
He accepted all the accusations but ultimately spoke after all that.
“Elizabeth, I don’t not want to spend this honeymoon with you; I just worry for your safety and fear you being burdened by the artificial eye and the chaos. Somehow, now that I know this is your decision, that you’ve not been controlled by the artificial eye and chaos, I can’t help but feel relieved.”
He smiled softly, but his gaze bitterly avoided hers. He didn’t rebut anything, just silently sighed.
“No matter what, as long as you are safe.”
Elizabeth looked at Fisher before her, her lips trembling, and the strength in her hand gripping Fisher’s collar quietly relaxed until it completely removed contact with his collar. Fisher, following this action, turned his gaze back with a sad and regretful look turned towards her.
“But, Elizabeth, you said something wrong. I didn’t resolve the Apocalypse Prophecy merely for the other women you mentioned. Before I knew any of them, before I knew you even, when I got that book titled ‘Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans’ and saw the Apocalypse Prophecy, I had already embarked on the journey to attempt to resolve it.”
He looked directly at Elizabeth, his eyes both sorrowful and firm.
“At that time, I was still just a human, completely unaware of the difficulties, terrors, and fate hidden behind the Apocalypse Prophecy. I set off on this journey simply because I felt that it would be a great pity if a world with a nun like Teresa who raised me, with Teacher Heilson, with Trandal, and with you, were to perish like this.”
Elizabeth’s eyes flickered slightly. At this moment, even though Pandora’s artificial eye had no effect on Fisher, merely through the unspoken understanding between them, she realized that what Fisher said now was absolutely true.
“Elizabeth, I don’t know what kind of world you envision in which a new order has been established. I just feel that this world with you and that will give birth to many more like you is worth saving. The education I received and the love and warmth I experienced while growing up drive me to protect the existence that gave me these.”
“This has never changed from the beginning, but you have changed. In the past, when you were younger, you could feel this beauty, seeing so many beings who are different yet similar from the Nali living outside of it. I don’t know if you remember, but you said you liked to see me writing articles about those subhumans sold from the Southern Continent to Nali, and you said if there was a chance in the future, you wanted to travel to the Southern Continent, the Northern Region, or the restless eastern side of the continent with me.
“But now you can lightly create a massacre in the places we once yearned for and believe so naively in the incoming, unknown deities; that’s why I say you’ve changed. However, I know that you’ve only changed in this regard; in loving me and in your sense of responsibility, you’ve never changed. You’ve become like this only because you suffered hardships that I could not comprehend—the betrayals, the sins, I do not have the right to condemn you for this.
“And while I haven’t changed in the intention to resolve the Apocalypse Prophecy, my love and responsibility towards you have changed, all because of my own greed with no other reason.”
Emhart raised his gaze toward Fisher, who seemed to be trembling slightly in his arms, not understanding what he was contemplating when he spoke those words. Emhart just felt that Fisher was unusually sad and regretful.
Fisher’s every word gradually diminished the fury in Elizabeth’s eyes and also revealed the fragmented sorrow hidden beneath that anger.
It turned out that many of the flames of anger in this world were actually sadness, the fuel almost turned to ash.
She squinted slightly, slowly retracting her hand that had rested on Fisher’s collar; her emotional words became calm, suppressing the sorrow in her voice as much as possible.
“All my beauty, everything I cherished, has been buried in betrayal, and once buried, it will never return and cannot be made up for.
“Fisher, I see through it; you will never turn back. Even if your current regret is sincere, even if your current sadness is sincere, you can no longer let go of those women associated with you. You can no longer possess only each other; the normal familial affection I long for, that wouldn’t betray my older brother, wouldn’t see me as an object father, wouldn’t leave my sister, won’t return. The soldiers who sacrificed alongside me on the battlefield and my eyes that were blinded from the explosion will never return.
“Everything I wanted has already turned to ashes in this crumbling old order, leaving only pain within me. And with the Apocalypse approaching, besides preserving Nali, only a new order can bring back everything I desired.”
In front of the crimson sky, Elizabeth’s hollow eyes gradually rose, gazing at Fisher with a strong aura of chaos.
Fisher did not understand what those chaotic elements had promised Elizabeth. He did not comprehend the chaotic enemies, nor whether Elizabeth, who was about to achieve death trinity, had the ability to reshape everything she desired.
None of this seemed important anymore because, in any case, there would no longer be anything she disliked within Elizabeth’s new order, while Fisher insisted on preserving everything for the sake of the world.
“Let’s finish the honeymoon, Elizabeth. I promise you.”
Fisher suddenly said while looking at Elizabeth before him.
But just then, a sudden explosive sound erupted from the palace behind them. Fisher turned his head only to see a strong chaotic life aura erupting from the room where Alicia used to reside, followed by a distorted, one-person-high mass of flesh crawling out of that room, fleeing into the deep mountains far away from the beach.
In his ears, the ethereal voice of the Fate Lord also came.
“Not good; your means have likely been discovered by the Chaotic Being. It’s probably now resisting the flesh you left on Alicia. It wants to run. Isn’t your body covered in something that even I can’t see through? How could it have discovered you? Could it be that these chaotic beings communicate with each other?”
Fisher was slightly stunned, turning to look behind him. The golden light in Elizabeth’s eyes intensified, but the sadness on her face remained unchanged. She merely said softly,
“I’ve told you, Fisher, I know more than you can imagine. I’ve always known what resides within Alicia; I’ve also known why you’ve been meeting her. The reason I didn’t stop you from seeing her is that I had left the death aura of {Hemura} on her from the start to protect her.
“The death trinity is about to be achieved. I will also burn this world I detest to ashes, reforge its lost beauty.”
Please vote, tip, and support; it means a lot to me!
Thank you for your support!
(End of chapter)
