The Record of Unusual Creatures - Chapter 896

Chapter 896: The Expected Encounter

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

 

What happened was obvious. Amatura, the demon hunter, might have come out from the madness caused by the Shade of Chaos before his death and left behind this note. Judging from his posture, he was intentionally hiding the note with his body. The situation at the time must be so bad that he only managed to leave behind a few words, and these words must be crucial.

“‘They are right, we have made a mistake’” Vivian repeated the words thoughtfully. “What does that mean?”

“They should mean the Ancattero family,” Hao Ren said, recalling what White Flame had told him and trying to connect the dots. “The demon hunters came to the Golden Manor to figure out the ‘innate hostility’ problem. So could it be that the ‘mistake’ refers to the misconceptions of the three elders about the phenomenon of innate hostility?”

“The Ancaterro family is right? Does it mean that the Ancattero family has found out the real cause of the innate hostility?” Hesperides had the same wavelength as Hao Ren. “Can we infer based on these words that the demon hunters under the leadership of Amatura and the Ancattero family were studying the phenomenon of innate hostility and both sides had made great progress, but they had come to very different conclusions? So they decided to meet up and conduct a joint discussion. Then perhaps the research had caused the Shades of Chaos to escape, and it was squarely blamed on the demon hunters. That was why Amatura wrote they are right, we’ve made a mistake,” Hesperides said.

Her guess made sense, but somehow, Hao Ren had the gut feeling that there was something more than meets the eye. Scratching his chin, he looked at Amatura’s body. “Are you saying that the study of the innate-hostility phenomenon by the demon hunters and the Ancattero family was the cause of the seal’s failure?”

“Wasn’t that the reason the demon hunters came to the Golden Manor?” Hesperides crossed her arms. “Judging from Amatura’s last words, it is obvious that mistake was made on the matter.”

“If that’s the case, what is the connection between the Shade of Chaos and innate hostility?” Vivian asked, her face serious. “What did they do that led to the failure of the seal? They couldn’t possibly experiment in the middle of the banquet, could they?”

Wayne could not make head or tail of what they were talking. He was even more confused when he saw Hesperides the nymph of the evening, who was conservative and always keeping a low prole, could keep up with the conversation. “Looks like you guys are very familiar with the innate-hostility phenomenon,” he said.

Vivian looked at Wayne and asked, “Don’t you understand?”

“Of course I understand; all otherworldlings have been affected by this phenomenon, and the innate hostility among the younger generation is rapidly weakening recently. It has become a big issue,” Wayne said as he looked at the demon hunters nearby. “I just don’t know what they’re doing.”

Hao Ren looked at Wayne. He suddenly became interested to know what this traditional vampire thought about the conflicts between the supernatural races. “What is your thought on the innate hostility? Have you ever asked why the supernatural races on Earth are killing each other for no reason?” he asked.

Just when Wayne was about to speak, the MDT suddenly emerged. “Turbulence detected on the outer dimension. A new entrance was opened!”

“What is this?” Wayne stared perplexedly at the gadget that came out of Hao Ren’s pocket and had forgotten what he had wanted to say.

“I’m so high-tech that you have no idea of,” the MDT said and shook a couple of times in front of Wayne. It then opened a holographic radar image. A few red dots appeared and moved inward from the edge of the radar range. “Looks like White Flame has found a way in,” Hao Ren said.

“They are faster than I have expected.” Vivian’s expression had not changed a bit, the arrival of the other demon hunters was within her calculation. “The dimensional blockade might have been weakened when we entered the mysterious realm. The demon hunters are skillful trackers though,” she said.

A sudden sense of crisis struck Wayne, taking away his curiosity about the MDT. He felt the enemies were right at the gate. His eyes became blood-red, and two sharp fangs had grown out of his mouth. “What’s the plan? Do we ambush them or set a trap to welcome them?” he asked.

Vivian shot Wayne her junior a cold look. “Who said we’re fighting? Have you forgotten what I told you before?”

“Let’s go and welcome them. We don’t have to hide, meet them openly,” Hesperides said with a cold voice. “This place is too freaking weird. We have no idea where the shadows are hiding, fighting among ourselves will only put us all in danger. I hope those demon hunters understand this,” she said.

Vivian nodded and turned to walk toward the door, but Wayne was still worried. “Is this going to be okay?”

“When she says she can handle it, she means it. If she can’t, neither you can.” Hao Ren smacked Wayne on the shoulder. “We’re not weaklings.”

Wayne did not know how to react. Probably it was the first time in his life that someone smacked and talked to him like that. When he finally woke up to it, Hao Ren and his team were already at the doorway. He looked at Hao Ren from behind, pouting. “A bunch of weirdos,” he mumbled.

Hesperides rubbed the scarred on her forehead. In some ways, she shared Wayne’s feelings. “Yeah, they’re really strange,” she said.

Meanwhile, White Flame was entering the Golden Manor with her teacher and companions for the first time. Despite their vast experience, the demon hunters were awed at what they saw.

A thin-at-the-top, dark man in a long trench coat was in front of the team. The dense fog was giving way from as far as dozens of meters away whenever he moved. Looking at the surroundings with great interest, the man said casually, “I didn’t expect to see real gold though I’d heard of Golden Manor before. Where did the Ancattero family get so much gold?”

One of the masters among them replied casually, “It was said that they used magic to turn sunlight into gold.”

“It must be a rumor.” The bald man laughed. “It doesn’t make sense in the eye of the laws of physics.”

This team of demon hunters was elites who had been working together for years. They were veterans and having vast experience in dealing with various complicated situations, so they were calm walking in this strange realm. White Flame was also the backbone of this elite force. Walking at the rear of the team silently, she looked indifferent her surroundings, but actually, she was very alert. She was scanning her surroundings quietly for any strange movement in the fog.

“Have you smelled them?” Hasse noticed his disciple’s behavior, slowed down and asked her.

White Flame shook her head slightly. “Nope. They might have entered through another entrance.”

“Judging from the magic ripples I’ve sensed earlier, they are one step ahead of us,” said Hasse with a shimmer in his single eye. “The Countess has involved herself personally in this matter. She wasn’t used to be that high-profile, but she’s getting more and more active now.”

“She seems to be following the human named Hao Ren,” White Flame said with a serious look on her face. She then looked around with a bit of uneasiness. “Is it all right for us to go in like that? Would there be an ambush?”

White flame and Hao Ren had met many times before; she held no grudges against him. However, as a demon hunter, she was still wary of an ambush. Ironically, her teacher was more at ease. “Don’t worry; the Countess will be waiting for openly.”

As it turned out, Hasse was right. In an unprecedented way, Hao Ren and his team stood in front of the hall of the Ancattero family and waited for the arrival of the demon hunters.

Both sides were expecting each other. They finally came face to face in front of the family hall.

Y’zaks was the most prominent figure standing at the doorway with Y’lisabet on his shoulders, and he was as conspicuous as a giant road sign. Hasse, the one-eyed demon hunter, was in front of his team, together with White Flame who had strikingly silver hair.

Hao Ren and his team were prepared and appeared at ease while the demon hunters seemed to be caught by surprise. Though Hasse was expecting to see Vivian there, the ‘Hello!’ placard had surprised him.

It was Lily’s weird idea. Hao Ren had been trying to distance himself from the weirdo husky, but he still felt like an idiot to stand on this side with the stupid placard.

If you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas.

---

Chapter 897: The Most Peculiar Joint-Investigation Team

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

 

The investigation teams led by Hasse and Hao Ren respectively finally met in front of the family hall. Other than Hao Ren and a few of his teammates, everyone was freaking nervous. Though Wayne and Hesperides looked relatively calm, the magic power had begun to glow on their hands. The demon hunters were clenching their crossbows and silver daggers, the atmosphere became very tense.

Even though the demon hunters were mentally prepared, they tensed up when they saw those people on the other side. They could not help it because after all, they were enemies for 10,000 years; the reaction was ingrained in their DNA, and they could do nothing to suppress it.

As for Lily, who was waving the ‘Hello’ placard, was ignored entirely.

The young demon hunters aimed their crossbows at the otherworldlings across the square while Wayne was threateningly baring his fangs in return. Fighting was on the verge of breaking out, but Vivian just watched on cool-headedly. She nodded at Hasse. “Do you want to fight? Have demon hunters degenerated so much that you could no longer think with your brain?”

“Stand down,” Hasse ordered his men by raising his fist in the air. He then nodded back to Vivian. “Countess, long time no see,” he shouted across the square.

The two leaders—at least the demon hunters thought Vivian was, talked to each other at a distance. The tense atmosphere eased. The demon hunters began to tuck away their weapon while maintaining their alert, but the Letta runes were still activated on their hands. Wayne and Hesperides did the same; despite their calm demeanor, they were still in combat-ready mode.

Both sides had shown maximum restraint.

Vivian was satisfied with the situation. She smiled subtly. “Good. I don’t like to see fighting breaking out here, especially you guys have been killing each other for a long time.”

The demon hunters looked at Vivian curiously. Some of them had only heard of the Countess of the Crimson Moon but never met her in person. They were taught to hate otherworldlings since the early age, but when they met this most ancient ancestor of otherworldlings, who was even older than their first ancestor, they could not help but look at her with respect. Hasse ignored the reactions of his men. He, White Flame and the dark-skinned man stepped forward. “Let’s cut the crackle and get down to business. We all know why we are here today. So what is your suggestion?”

Vivian looked at the warriors that Hasse had brought. “Let’s work together.”

This suggestion had not only caused a commotion among the demon hunters, but Hasse and White Flame were also a little surprised. The two of them said in unison, “Work together?!”

Vivian nodded as if saying “I’m not joking.” She moved aside so that the other side could see the hall. “You will know when you see what has happened inside; it’s totally unlike anything you have seen before.”

Hasse looked at Vivian with a puzzled look. He lowered his head and walked into the Ancattero family hall, while several masters followed him from behind.

After a few moments, Hasse came out from the hall with his men, face like a dead man, filled with horror. He waved his hand motioning the warriors outside to stay calm. Hasse then turned to Vivian. “Just do what you said,” he said.

The demon hunters’ reactions were varied; there were those who were surprised, unacceptable, and incomprehensible. Demon hunters were taught to hate otherworldlings since young, and the quirky phenomenon of innate hostility was deeply ingrained in them, and there was no such thing as ‘collaborating with the otherworldlings’ in their thinking. They could not believe Hasse had said such a thing, but none of them stood up to object as Hasse was the most senior leader of the team. As a highly respected elderly demon hunter, Hasse was only answerable to the top-twelve sages, but in field mission, his words were the council of elders’ words.

Vivian tilted her head slightly to the side. “Any problem, Wayne?” she asked.

Wayne exhaled with a weird expression on his face. “Do as you say. Anyway, it’s a rare experience.”

The demon hunters had no choice but to work with them. It was the most peculiar joint-investigation team ever put together. Walking along the demon hunters, Hao Ren had never felt such weird. He was on pins and needles, and goosebumps popped out all over his skin. Everyone was suspicious of each other. They were nervous, but no one dared to make the first attack. He was sure as hell that he was not the only one having this feeling; he could see the tense look on the face of the demon hunters. It was as nervous as carrying a gas tank together and then someone had decided to light a cigarette up to calm himself down.

Lily was sensitive to the atmosphere and stuck close to Hao Ren. The uncomfortable feeling had her tail puffed straight like a sword. “Mr. Landlord, will they fight?”

“I think… they won’t,” Hao Ren replied, glancing at Vivian and Hasse, worried. “It seems the two of them might be able to keep things under control.”

While the joint-investigation team walked toward the family hall, Hesperides came up to Hasse quietly. “Long time no see. Are you still in Athens?”

Hasse had noticed Hesperides earlier. White Flame and the bald man also knew the nymph of the evening and Hasse had old grudges, so when Hesperides came up suddenly, they were nervous. Hasse, however, looked as calm as a summer sea. “Long time no see, Hesperides. Your injury… is it okay now?” he asked.

“I should be thankful to a strange doctor.” Hesperides had no emotion on her face. “Look at you! It looks like you’re still blind,” she said.

Hasse’s gaze landed on Vivian, and he smiled in a self-deprecating manner. “It’s my honor to be blinded by the ancient one. I still remember when I was at the Athens’ sanctuary, you lunged out at me suddenly like a mad dog. I thought you were doing the same to me this time.”

Hesperides gently rubbed her old wound on her forehead with a mysterious smile on her face. “Oh, since the arrow was removed, the wound has healed together with my character as well,” she said.

Hasse said indifferently, “Wow, looks like I had made a peaceful ‘goddess’ tyrannical by accident.”

Hesperides quietly watched Hasse for a while. Behind her twinkling amber eyes hiding a thought. At last, she nodded and then returned to the side of Vivian, as if nothing had ever happened.

Hasse looked as cold and somber as ever. The conversation earlier had not affected him a bit.

Two mortal foes were exchanging words casually, but enough to send a chill up the spines of the onlookers. Feeling a little confused, Hao Ren nudged Vivian. “What do they mean?” he asked.

“I still remember what you have done to me, but I will leave it to another time to settle the score,” Vivian interpreted.

“Oh, I see.”

Despite the tension between the demon hunter and Wayne and Hesperides, the tension subsided when they stepped into the hall. Hasse was too occupied with the bodies of the demon hunters that lied around the hall. He examined each of them and quickly identified several prominent people.

“This is Master Abaddon!” “Master Chloanne is here!” “I’ve found the body of Elder Marduk!”

The demon hunters reported their findings and could not care less about Hao Ren. They were busily examining the bodies, magic residue, and damage to the hall itself and reconstructed the battle scene. Though the demon hunters had the image of being stubborn and violent, they were a dab hand at crime scene investigation.

At least they were better than Hao Ren was in this regard.

Vivian came up to the body of Amatura with Hasse. “Do you know him? Is he Amatura?” she asked.

Hasse recognized Amatura in an instant. “That’s him. Eh, did he leave behind this?” he asked.

His eyes fell on the message on the pillar next to Amatura.

---

Chapter 898: Amatura’s Findings

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

 

Hasse knelt next to Amatura and ran his fingers gently across the text on the pillar. A faint glow appeared on his fingertips; it was a unique identification the method demon hunter used to verify that the writing was indeed of Amatura.

The thin-on-top, dark-skinned man, who looked like an African demon hunter, walked past Hasse. Seeing the body of Amatura, he halted, face solemn. “Indeed, Elder Amatura has also died here.”

“Teuton,” Hasse said as he got to his feet and nodded to the dark-skinned demon hunter. “Take out the letters.”

Teuton was stunned. “Here?”

“Yes, here,” said Hasse lightly. “Countess Ancestor is a respected elder. She has taken the initiative to show her sincerity, and we should reciprocate.”

Without a word, Teuton walked away quickly before coming back with a box that looked rather important. Hasse put the box on the only long table that was still standing. He swept the debris on the table away and took out a stack of papers and notes from the box in front of Vivian.

“This is” Vivian picked up a few sheets of paper and said, “the dairy of Amatura?”

“We found the clues on the documents. White Flame should have mentioned it to you earlier,” Hasse said and nodded. “These are the documents and diary left behind by Amatura and two other elders. The documents include their research on the phenomenon of innate hostility.”

Vivian and Hao Ren immediately examined the documents with the utmost seriousness. The records had been sorted by the demon hunters earlier, not only by date but also by name. Hao Ren flipped through a few pages and found that Elder Amatura’s study on the innate hostility phenomenon was far more comprehensive than he had initially thought. In the documents, Amatura described in detail the innate hostility of the otherworldlings and the killing instinct of the demon hunter and identified the two phenomena as the same thing. He had made a summary of all the supernatural races in history and other information related to innate hostility from the ancient times, including the degree of hatred of each race, the distribution of each race, the degree of force, the beginning and ending points of history of each race, as well as their respective forms of civilization. He categorized the innate hostility into ten levels according to the standard he set and graphically described the average degree of influence of innate hostility on various races since 10,000 years ago.

The illustration charts he had drawn showed that the influence of innate hostility was unbelievably high in the beginning, almost completely overriding the rational thinking of each race, and classified as “beyond the level of thinking.” Before and after the end of the Mythological era, the influence of innate hostility on each race had dropped to the level of “intelligence control,” and significantly declined in recent times to the level of “controllable common hostility.” The plot ended with the curve radically dropped to near zero, where Amatura left a question: Is it disappearing?

There were also research materials and correspondences of the other two demon hunters, but Amatura’s materials accounted for nearly 80% of the study. The more Hao Ren read, the more he was amazed. He realized that these findings were not new; from the declining of the innate hostility phenomenon in the younger generation of various races until now was only a few months, so Amatura had started studying this phenomenon a long time ago.

Vivian found a letter in which Amatura had mentioned some of his research to one of his friends. “…I discovered a long time ago that the difference between the supernatural races, including us, is enormous, not only culturally, but also in terms of physiological structure and the soul. Anyone with the right state of mind will not believe that these races were born on the same planet… I have checked the books that I have collected, and it is clear that smart people of other races are aware of this too.

“…the otherworldlings, and the demon hunter, all these races are undoubtedly from outside this planet, and also not from the same planet outside this planet; they are from different planets. We have different origins, no doubt about it…”

In another letter, Amatura again mentioned, “… my friends, shouldn’t we doubt it? We have been killing the otherworldlings for thousands of years, and those otherworldlings are also fighting among themselves, but why no one has questioned it? As you and I agree, the supernatural races come from different places. We have different physiological structures, forms of power, cultures, and traditions, even souls. Under normal circumstances, it is almost impossible for these races that are so different in every way to bump into each other, just like the fish in the deep sea and the monkeys in the mountains do not interact, let alone hate. There must be some power that threw us on the same planet and made us fought one another for the sake of fighting. Whenever I think about it, I am deeply disturbed…

“We are driven by something that is not of our own will. It lurks in the depths of the souls of you and me. Yes, we are like crickets and fighting cocks in a cage, eyes staring at the ‘enemy’ in front of us and have never been curious about the cage around us. No one has ever asked how we came into the cage in the first place. Now, the force that drives us is weakening gradually, and I am beginning to worry that it is probably a sign of worse to come: If there is a spectator outside the ‘cage,’ then this spectator has probably lost interest in the fight.”

Most of Amatura’s letters were the discussion of this topic with his friends. His three main views were: the supernatural races on Earth came from different “outside domains”; the supernatural races were collected from all over the universe and placed in a continuous battle environment on Earth, and the innate hostility phenomenon was a shackle and controller to keep the various supernatural races battling each other.

These three views could be surmised into one, that was, it was a conspiracy.

Amatura was limited by his vision on Earth and naturally unable to draw the correct conclusion, but he was still much better than other demon hunters and otherworldlings who had never doubted about their existence. At least he clearly understood that the killing instinct of the demon hunters had nothing to do with the sense of justice and mission but with something that was extremely suspicious and from a third party.

Naturally, the demon hunters viewed him as a deviant.

“I’ve never expected a demon hunter could be capable of such thinking.” Vivian could not help but mumble to herself. Hasse gently nodded. “Amatura was the strangest one among the elders. Many of his ideas, in our opinion, could be deemed heresies. He was the bravest warrior during the first half of his life and obsessed in the hunt for the otherworldlings. He suddenly got acquainted with these theories during the second half of his life,” Hasse said.

Vivian held up a letter and waved it in the air. “Wasn’t he scared of getting burned by your council of elders alive?” she asked.

Hasse shook his head. “His research work did not lower his position among the demon hunters, because his ‘fruit of war’ was still the best; he was still a strong demon hunter, just that his idea was a bit weird,” he said.

Vivian arched the corner of her mouth. “You had sensed something was wrong, yet you didn’t stop the fighting,” she said.

Hassel said nothing.

Hao Ren was interested to hear what the demon hunter thought about the ‘heretical’ theory. “Hasse, what do you think of Amatura’s findings?” Hao Ren asked.

After a short moment of silence, Hasse nodded. “It makes sense.” He gave an unexpected reply.

Vivian raised her eyebrows. “I thought you would burst out in righteous indignation.”

“The theory of Elder Amatura is not a secret. Do you think that demon hunters are only obsessed with fighting?” Hasse said with a subtle smile on his face. “We are more focused than most of the otherworldlings in learning and research. The theory of Amatura wouldn’t change anything. The influence of the killing instinct in us is far deep-rooted than you think, and theory alone would not reverse the situation that has been in existence since the Mythological era. At least, this is the case so far,” Hasse said.

Hao Ren did not comment on this. He just glanced at the documents and a line of text popped into his eyes.

“…In summary, our killing instinct is not a natural trait that should exist in our souls. It is implanted in us, evidence of human manipulation, and perhaps with a purpose…”

Unwittingly, Hao Ren again thought of the writing that Amatura left behind before his death. “They’re right. We’ve made a mistake.”

---

Chapter 899: The Appearance of the Shadows

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

 

“They’re right, we’ve made a mistake.”

Hao Ren recalled the last words of Amatura. After reading Amatura’s findings, Hao Ren and Hasse could not help but think of the innate hostility and conspiracy theories, but they had not figured out what the ‘mistake’ meant.

Was it part of a conspiracy theory, or was it the source of the innate hostility? Or was it something that Amatura’s findings had not stated?

“The problem now is that there is no information about the Ancattero family,” Hasse looked at Amatura’s body regrettably. “This information is missing from Amatura’s letters. I am afraid it has been destroyed or transferred. However, we now know that the Ancattero family is indeed studying the innate hostility phenomenon. If we could know their findings, you should be able to figure out the meaning of this last word.”

At this time, White Flame came up to Hasse. “Teacher, there is a situation,” she said.

“What happened?”

White Flame lowered her head. “We couldn’t find the body of Elder Andaherr and several masters and other missing persons,” she said.

Hasse’s eyebrows knit together. “Have you checked the rooms near the hall and the porch on the left?” he asked.

“Checked.” White Flame nodded. “I’ve also sent men to search the streets around the hall and nearby houses but found nothing. Master Teuton thinks that they must have escaped to somewhere else during the fierce battle. The scene is too messy, and we couldn’t trace them,” she said.

Hasse nodded with his eyes closed. Hao Ren reminded him, “The patriarch of the Ancattero family is not here, too.”

“They are the most powerful warriors. They must have escaped.” Hasse opened his single eye, which was glistening with light as he scanned the hall for clues. In his special vision, colors and strange things filled the hall. There were strange patterns and human faces on the broken tables, chairs and walls, souls of the dead, and residual energy. “There is the scent of Andaherr. She was here. She left in an unspecified direction,” Hasse said.

Hasse looked at Wayne, who was silent next to him. “You’re Wayne Walter. Do you know any sanctuaries in this city?”

Wayne opened his mouth but was hesitant to tell. Vivian shot him a glare then only Wayne said reluctantly, “There is more than one place like this, and I only know two or three of them, after all, I not an Ancattero family member.”

“Where do you think they might have gone?” Y’zaks asked.

“Looking along the horizontal axis of the family hall, you should be able to see a very high obelisk. Below the obelisk is the resting place of the Ancattero patriarchs. Vogus, if he were still sane at that time, should have escaped with his men there.”

Vogus was the name of the current patriarch of Ancattero.

Hasse immediately stopped the two demon hunters who were passing by and summoned Teuton, who was collecting blood samples. “Three of you follow Wayne to the resting place of Ancattero family to see if you can find out the whereabouts of the Elder Andaherr. Be careful. If you see the Shade of Chaos, call for help immediately.”

The three demon hunters were reluctant to let a vampire lead the team. Wayne protested too, but that drew a glare from Vivian.

At last, the four of them yielded and left to carry out the order. Vivian sighed helplessly. “It’s tough to deal with them, they were acting like children,” she said.

Hao Ren looked in amazement. Vivian was not only having absolute authority over the vampires but also the demon hunters. Though he knew that Vivian was a respected figure among the ancient demon hunters, he could not fathom how a vampire could exert such an influence by seniority alone. He sneaked up to White Flame and asked in a whisper, “It seems that demon hunters also fear Vivian.”

White Flame first looked at her teacher and then said in a low voice, “The younger generation of demon hunters may not know who she is, but the older ones know Countess Ancestor well.”

Hao Ren pouted. “What I don’t get is that how Vivian could have exerted so great influence based on seniority alone,” he said.

White Flame glanced into the direction of Vivian. Knowing that Vivian was not looking at them, White Flame whispered, “Imagine how influential a person is when that person has beaten everyone generation of your family before.”

Hao Ren was speechless.

“I can hear you,” Vivian said.

White Flame was stunned. Hao Ren came up to Vivian and said unabashedly, “Looks like you are notorious. Didn’t you say you’re a peace-lover?”

“I am,” Vivian said, rolling her eyes. “Apart from when I lost control of myself, I’ve never fought with anyone. Of course, scuffle once in a while was inevitable. After all, the world in ancient times was turbulent.”

Lily looked at Vivian, then Hasse and White Flame. “But I can see in their eyes that what you did to them in the past was no small scuffle,” she said.

Vivian looked away. “Life was hard back then during the barbaric era. I just wanted to fill up my stomach,” she said.

Hasse sighed. “But you wreaked havoc on the whole city,” he said.

Vivian blinked. “Most of the time, it was you who made a mountain out of a molehill! You mobilized the army of an entire city to guard your food. All I wanted was just a meal. Was it too much to ask?” she said.

Hao Ren could not help but interrupt them. “Seriously?”

“Yeah!” Vivian crossed her arms. “You know, I once took four potatoes from the demon hunters in Northern Europe. You know what, they sent 10,000 men surrounding the mountain to hunt me! Even Ebben, the werewolf didn’t go to such an extent!” she said.

Hasse, who used to be as calm as a millpond, became agitated. “When the oldest vampire stormed into the city impetuously, did you expect people think that you came in peace? Your mere presence was enough to throw the city into a state of emergency. Though I wasn’t present at that time, I could imagine how baffled the demon hunters at the garrison were when you ran away with only a few potatoes,” Hasse said.

Though Hasse did not have many encounters with Vivian in the past, he had heard of Vivian’ stories. They were silent, looking at each other and sighing. Hao Ren listened to their conversation and felt sorry for Vivian. He wondered how Vivian could mess up her life when she had all the fame and abilities.

Lily could not help but murmur, “Why did you look for trouble with these people when you could have just grabbed your food safely from the civilians?”

“Safely?” Vivian sighed. “I get a lot of attention wherever I go. What’s more, the demon hunters have eyes everywhere. Back then, when the demon hunters learned that I was on the Seine, they came to hunt me from as far as Nile River. At that time, I hoped that I was just a little-known small fry, at least I wouldn’t have drawn so much hatred towards me. But slowly, things got better. After the Mythological era, the world was more peaceful, and the demon hunters didn’t even bother to look for me anymore. I guess it was because I had consistently beaten their grandfathers, the later generations were too embarrassed, so they avoided me like the plague,” she said.

I will leave it to you to imagine the expression on Hasse’ face.

Vivian’s words had reminded Hao Ren of her similar encounters with the Ebben family. These things were almost unimaginable during the peaceful era on Earth. During the Mythological period, the melee among the otherworldlings was a norm and had produced many legends about the divine wars, Ragnarök, and the punishment of the gods. No one knew that the truth behind these divine warfare was all about a hungry vampire.

“There is rumor among the demon hunters and the otherworldlings that the Countess of the Crimson Moon is very moody,” Hasse forced a smile. “It was not just because she lost control of herself and became violent, but also because she often behaved weirdly. If not for hearing it with my ears, I would not have believed that she caused all that troubles simply because she was hungry.”

Hao Ren nodded. “It seems that she is very dangerous only when she is hungry, but if you feed her well she will be perfectly fine,” he said empathically.

Vivian looked at Hao Ren, knitting her brows together. “That’s a strange theory. Is that how you raise your cat?”

They were waiting for the investigators to finish sampling and analyzing the evidence in the hall. The tension between the demon hunters and the otherworldlings had subsided. Even Hasse did not realize that the killing instinct in his blood had dissipated completely.

The other demon-hunter investigators were even less aware of it.

Meanwhile, the shadows were lurking beneath the collapsed pillars, broken tables and chairs, and corpses but no one had noticed that.

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Chapter 900: An Uphill Battle

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

 

It was the MDT that alerted them when it detected something was wrong.

At that time, everyone was busy combing for clues in the hall. White Flame and Hesperides were trying to figure out what kind of weapon could blow that big hole on the roof. Hasse and Hao Ren were skimming through Amatura’s documents. No one had noticed the threat—just like the time the Shade of Chaos attacked Hao Ren; it came undetectable, not even the most experienced demon hunters and demon king like Y’zaks could see it coming. It was in that critical moment that the MDT flew out from Hao Ren’s pocket and sounded the alarm. “Attention! Abnormal energy detected! Abnormal energy detected!”

The MDT’s unique sensor had recognized the enemy’s energy signature and quickly identified the threat.

The brick was radiating with blue light and popping out suddenly shocked the demon hunters nearby. They thought that the otherworldlings had lost self-control and begun to attack them. Very quickly, Hasse came to grips with what happened and took out his crossbow and shouted, “It’s the Shade of Chaos!”

All demon hunters switched into battle mode at the drop of a hat. A silver flare rose from their bodies and White Flame burst into flame like a lady of fire. Hao Ren’s reaction was not any slower. He took out his silver spear and apple box but left out the psionic gun—psionic gun had a more extensive range of damage and less precise thus posing a higher risk to friendly forces. He stood in front of Lily. “Stay calm! Be focused!” he shouted.

As soon as his voice trailed off, Hao Ren sensed familiar hostile energy coming his way. He quickly turned and dodged the attack while at the same time pointing the apple box at the incoming forces. He was not sure if he had caught anything because the hostile energy seemed to be everywhere.

The shadows of the collapsed pillars, furniture, bodies of the Tannaean and demon hunters began to move as if they were living things. The shadows seemed to flow like liquid and overran the golden floor in the ball. Hao Ren stood in the middle and surrounded by the creeping shadows, and he began to see the illusion of a swamp swallowing him up.

The Shade of Chaos here was thick.

Hasse, covered in flame, first glanced at Hao Ren and was amazed. He understood the logic of using the spear in battle, but a fruit box was just beyond him. Out of courtesy, the senior demon hunter reminded him in a low voice, “You might have got the wrong weapon, Hao Ren.”

Hao Ren was startled for a while. He then looked at the plasma spear in his hand and ditched it but the apple box.

Hasse’s jaw dropped to the ground.

“Have you not seen high-tech before?” The MDT knocked Hasse in his head. It emitted an intense glow and immobilized the Shade of Chaos that was just within a few meters around Hao Ren. “Everyone, get out of here! The shadows have overrun the hall. We’ll be in deep shit if we get surrounded!”

There as no reminder needed for elite warriors as they had already seen the danger. Shadows crept and gathered from all sides as if a swamp swallowed up the entire hall. As the disgusting things slowly engulfed every inch of the floor, White Flame burst into an even larger flame and floated in mid-air. She used her sacred flame cleared a path to the exit and forced the shadows back. “Everyone, get to the outside!”

The demon hunters quickly formed into groups of three and retreated towards the exit under the protection of the sacred flame. The Shades of Chaos, which were held back by the sacred flame, gathered on both sides of the path like a sludge. Though the shadows were formless, Hao Ren heard in the illusion a horrifying gulping sound as the evil shadows gathered. Hasse lit up a Letta rune card, and cast it into the densest part of the Shades of Chaos. It burned with a pungent smell, and the shadows seemed to recede a little, but the damage to the Shade of Chaos was minimal.

“Go!” Hasse called White Flame who was keeping the sacred-flame path open before casting two more rune cards to dispel the nearby shadows.

Wanting to follow everyone running towards the exit, Lily saw the burning path and feared the flame would burn her beautiful tail, she hesitated. “You got to be kidding me!” she said.

White Flame the lady of fire came up and grabbed Lily. “Let’s go. I’ve got it under control.”

Hao Ren and others followed from behind. Before stepping into the burning silver flame, Hao Ren was a little nervous too, but as soon as he was running in it, he began to believe White Flame’s superb control of the sacred flame. No one got burned by the fire. “It’s not hot! It’s not hot at all!” Lily yelled as she ran.

Hao Ren was anticipating that the Shades of Chaos would set a trap for them on the outside. Surprisingly, the situation on the outside was calm. It seemed that the Shades of Chaos only gathered in the hall.

As they came out of the hall, the Shades of Chaos also were chasing them to the outside. The demon hunters grouped into a formation in the square and set up a silvery-white wall of flame to hold the shadows back.

To Hao Ren amazement, the sacred flame was very effective against the Shades of Chaos. Though it was not able to eliminate the shadows, it could at least dispel and suppress them. With the demon hunters holding the shadows back with their formation, Hao Ren did not have to face another dilemma. He still remembered vividly in his mind when he first encountered the Shade of Chaos. The shadow was right up his tail. Hao Ren was unable to shake it off. The last thing he wanted was to face a similar situation again.

“Get ready for the exorcism ritual!” Hasse ordered the demon hunters. “Warriors of the flame, hold down the fort. Don’t let any shadows come into contact with anyone!”

The mental-attack ability of the Shade of Chaos posed the greatest threat. Once a warrior became deranged, it would bring down the defense from within. So the sacred-flame barrier must stay up no matter what.

Several master demon hunters stepped forwards, raised their hands, and began to chant an ancient incantation. A unique metal blade filled with Letta runes began to emerge from their pouches and spun around them. When the powerful exorcism ritual began, a layer of silver light shrouded the entire family hall and a Letta rune that was large enough to envelop the whole building was floating above the silver light.

They were preparing a huge ritual, which would take some time to complete. The Shades of Chaos did not want to be sitting ducks; they began to launch an attack from all sides.

The demon hunters, who were already up to their ears trying to hold up the line of defense, had no time to fence off shadows that kept coming out of the hall. That was when Y’zaks and Y’lisabet stepped in. “We got them!”

When the demonic father-daughter team transformed into shadowmancers, some unknown green runes began to surround them, and the fissures of the Umbral Realm started to spread under their feet. In order not to reduce the burden of the flame warriors, they stepped out of the flame barrier towards the Shades of Chaos.

Discovering that the prey was coming toward them, the Shades of Chaos pranced towards the two like hungry jackals. Y’zaks had been waiting for this moment. He opened the shadowy dimension and sucked the Shades of Chaos into the eternal darkness. At the same time, Y’lisabet was using a shadowy orb smashing the Shades of Chaos indiscriminately. She did not even have to aim because the shadows were everywhere.

It was a little weird of how the little demon was using her magic power though, as shooting magic in her hand would turn into smashing magic, for example.

The Shades of Chaos were fearless and brainless at the same time. They did not change their tactic but kept coming although their weaknesses had been exposed. Y’zaks lowered his head; his bald head was glistening with light.

As it turned out, his shiningly bald head was deflecting the Shades of Chaos.