Disoriented?
Disoriented?
"It's about Vivian's memory and her disorientation," Hao Ren said. He was unsure if it was wise to tell Hasse, so he just gave a cursory response. "She would sometimes become disoriented and have no impression of past events."
Vivian suddenly looked up at Hao Ren. "Where's my manuscript?"
The Dimensional Pocket had become a convenient storage where they usually put their important but rarely used stuff in Hao Ren's custody. The ancient manuscript, which contained more than 10,000 years of Vivian's past was in the Dimensional Pocket. Hao Ren took out a piece of white cloth with written symbols from the Dimensional Pocket and unfolded it on a nearby flat rock. Vivian immediately approached it and examined it carefully.
The rest of them also stopped what they were doing and went up to take a gander.
"...The early Middle East during the Olympian Era... Europe after the Olympian Era... Egypt in 1426... It coincides in terms of time and place, each and every battle..." Vivian's finger moved quickly across the symbols and drawings. The time and place matched Hasse's statement. "The things that happened before I hibernated each time…"
Lily looked at Vivian worriedly. "Are you at it again, Battie?" she asked.
"No, I'm just trying to figure out what I did in the past." Vivian suddenly raised her head and turned to Hao Ren. "Was it all... a hallucination? Or, was it something else controlling my mind?"
The most unexplainable part of Vivian's hibernation cycle was her "combat record". According to the manuscript, each time before the hibernation, she would bitterly fight a group of distorted otherworldling creatures. Although Vivian had no memory of this, the manuscript records appeared exceptionally realistic. Hao Ren always thought that this was only due to her problematic memory, but the situation had taken a surprising turn.
If Hasse was right, then Vivian could have actually fought with the demon hunters and unusual creatures, as well as rats.
Things had gotten confusing at this point.
Hao Ren scratched his chin and asked, "No one can tell what happened to her back then. Hasse, since you were a witness, did you notice anything unusual about Vivian when she went amok?"
Hasse's face was still deadpan. If not for his stiff muscles, his face would have looked sardonic by now. "Unusual? Who'd be studying her expression when she's burning the entire plain with her Lightning Strike? I only know that whenever young people questioned whether the Countess of the Crimson Moon was worthy of her name, the elders would always use these historical materials to teach them. Of course, the rats were not included."
Hao Ren and Vivian looked at Hasse with a solemn face. Hasse knitted his brows together in deep thought. After a long while, he nodded and said, "Of course, anyone who's dealt with the countess would definitely feel that something was wrong. She is peace-loving, and gentle. She hardly has conflict with anyone although she can be moody occassionally. So when she went berserk, people found it unbelievable. We thought that someone might have rubbed her the wrong way. After all, no one is perfect. People do get angry about things sometimes. But now, it looks like the truth is still out there."
"Of course the truth is still out there!" Hao Ren sighed, shaking his head. "Do you think any elder member of the Blood Clan in their right mind would fight with a bunch of rats—and lose?"
Vivian looked into Hasse's eyes. "I'm sorry, looks like I'm really responsible for the lost of your eye. I'll help you cure it if given the chance in the future—if you're willing to accept help from an otherworldling."
Even taciturn Teuton and White Flame who had been trying hard to stay in the background were stunned, let alone Hasse. Incredulous, Hasse said, "You're... apologizing to me?"
"Why are you so surprised? I'm even more surprised by your big-heartedness," Hao Ren said weirdly as he pointed at Hasse's only eye. "You look like you couldn't care less even when the enemy who blinded you is right in front of you."
Hasse shrugged and said nothing; no one knew what was on his mind. These long-lived creatures had a very different worldview. Their views on hatred and memory bewildered normal people. So, Hao Ren always found it hard to strike up a conversation with them on similar topics.
The conversation ended and Hasse left with the other two demon hunters. Vivian rubbed her forehead and asked, "Mr. Landlord, do you know what I was doing?"
Hao Ren pulled his brows together. "You obviously lost your judgement before the hibernation, and it was serious. You would see normal people and animals as monsters. Every fight mentioned in the manuscript is true. God knows how many people you've offended…"
Lily raised her hand, reminding them, "The rats too!"
Burying her face in her hands, Vivian said, "Don't mention the rats again! At least, I won every other fight!"
Hao Ren waved his hand and said, "Okay, okay, let's not mention the rats. Now I know how you got your prominence. I always thought it was based on seniority."
Vivian pasted a smile on her face. "I never thought about it before too. I thought that they feared me because I was the most senior of them all. How could I have known that it was because I had beaten them in the past? I feel so bad now."
Y'zaks seemed like he understood the circumstances of the events. He sulkily asked, "Honestly, has anyone pointed this out to you in the past? Don't you have friends?"
"I do, but we're not really close, and it's even more so with others." Vivian shook her head. "More importantly, convenient alliances and frequent break-ups were a norm during the perennial war among the otherwordlings. No one would make a fuss out of that—even if it was the most ancient ones. Of course, it's possible that someone may have mentioned it to me, but I forgot..."
Hao Ren smacked himself on the forehead as he had a feeling that the last phrase was probably true.
He tucked away the manuscript, looked at the sunset, and sighed. "Let's go home. We can't do anything without more fresh leads. We have enough headaches to deal with now."
Their next destination was the Plane of Dreams. Their target was to locate Io, the planet of the sirens. However, before that they had to be fully prepared. Considering that a brain monster had come to this world through the spatial rift, Hao Ren suspected that more of such monsters had already gathered on Io. Perhaps the brain monsters had assembled an army near the spatial rift, waiting for their compatriot on this side to open the door to invade the Surface World. He had to respond in advance.
If there really was an army on the other side, the maelstrom was not the only thing that they needed to blow up; they might even need a higher level of armed support to deal with the situation.
After returning home, Hao Ren immediately submitted a report of the Nasaton incident to Raven 12345 before he checked the munitions on the Petrachelys. At the same time, he also sent the MDT to New Aerym to restock his conventional arsenal.
With three more sirens, the already crowded living space in his house became packed to the gills. After letting the three sirens spend the night in Nangong Wuyue's room, they set off to Andrea Castle the next morning.
But Hao Ren would not let the dumb cat follow him this time.
"Big Boss Cat, do you really want to leave me at home?" The cat girl squatted in front of the MDT and looked at Hao Ren with a sad face. She drooped her tail and ears as she said, "I was very obedient, wasn't I?"
Indeed, the cat girl had been good during the Nasaton mission. She was obedient and brave enough to fight. She did not go up to savor the mermaids even though Hao Ren had been worried about this initially. But this time, he was not going to take the cat to Io—the reason was simple: compared to Nasaton, which was only a city where the situation was more controllable, Io was a far more dangerous place.
The cat would not be able to cope with the situation.
The dumb cat would stay back with Lil Pea. Y'lisabet would stay behind too as she was tasked with keeping an eye on the cat and the fish. Despite only being a child, the little demoness had stood in as a commander during Y'zaks'absence in Helcrown. Sometimes, she was more dependable than the other adults.
"You stay at home and take care of Lil Pea," Nangong Wuyue said, bending down and patting Rollie on the head. "If you listen to Y'lisabet, we'll take you out more often."
Hao Ren also stepped forward and petted the cat. "Have you not learned how to make Bibimbap? This time, learn how to wash the dishes and clean the table from Y'lisabet. When I come back, I'm going to ask Y'lisabet how well you've done. If you do well, I'll let you eat grilled fish for a week."
The demon girl immediately patted her chest and pledged, "Don't worry, Uncle Ren. You can trust me! Remember to bring me some machine parts from Io!"
The cat girl looked at Hao Ren and knew that her master was very firm this time. She had no choice but to nod her head in frustration before turning to the Nangong Wuyue. "Then, can you turn into a fish and let me lick you? When I'm finished, I'll be a good girl and stay home," she said, making her last request.
Wuyue was dumbfounded.
Hao Ren turned his face way and said, "Just let her lick you."
Wuyue looked up at the sky and lamented, "What kind of family is this?"