Chapter 101
Fisherman's Tomb, bordering Daventry and part of Phoenix, is a melting pot of people and races, including half-demon hybrids. Trade is rampant here, and relatively speaking, Fisherman's Tomb is much more orderly than other places.
Veris was no stranger to this place.
He met Clark here, and also got to know the idle demon Freudion back then.
Of course, it wasn't just these people or demons; he also met many, many eccentric but worthwhile friends. However, as the years passed, those people or alien races died in the Demon King's Forest, becoming nourishment for that black land.
This place breeds evil, where bloodshed and new life intertwine. The Pope's faith cannot reach it; the followers of the Primordial Demon take root here. They cannot articulate the Primordial Demon's rules, but they know that death is their end.
Since the end is inevitably death, there's no need to worry too much about how long we live.
The Fisherman's Tomb is managed by the Seven Guardians. After the Demon Moon passed, he returned to the Fisherman's Tomb and, as usual, stayed in his house to sleep.
If it weren't for the gloomy, ominous sky, the bustling streets would resemble other districts.
The buildings here are black and yellow, with defensive formations inscribed with unknown curses. The magic of the demons is different from the magic known to humans; they use curses to create their spells.
The unique human squad naturally attracted everyone's attention.
Since entering the Demon King's Forest, Arnold and his companions have experienced no fewer than ten robberies, ambushes, and deceptions. Fortunately, they are strong enough to deal with each one, and then they arrived at this place, which is said to be the busiest market in Fisherman's Tomb.
Their goal was to head north to the Demon Forest, but they had been traveling for a day and a night from the border of Daventry, and they needed to rest.
I hope to find a hotel in this area.
Despite these thoughts, Arnold and his companions knew full well that finding a decent inn in the Demon Forest would be extremely difficult. If they went to sleep, their luggage would probably be stolen within half an hour.
Resting outdoors isn't entirely unacceptable, but...
The sky was gray and gloomy. Perhaps it was a characteristic of the Demon King's Forest, but there was no sunlight in the sky, and the skin of the people here was also grayish-white.
In the south, a gray sky also means heavy rain.
After discussing it, Arnold and the others decided to prioritize the hotel.
Even before setting off, Arnold had considered that the Demon Forest was no smaller than the capital city of Lortheran, and that they had experienced the various problems they would encounter on their journey north.
Therefore, he hoped to find the notes of the previous hero, so that he could at least know some precautions for the Demon King's Forest.
But no, none of the previous heroes left any records, no records of the Demon King's Forest.
Strangely, neither the king nor anyone else questioned this, as if it were the natural course of things.
Arnold even mustered the courage to write a letter to the king, who replied many days later with illegible handwriting, implying that his experience in the Demon Forest was also part of the adventure.
The boy seemed to have been enlightened, realizing that he had only been thinking about using other powers and had forgotten that defeating the Demon King was a way to make himself stronger.
However, a few days before their departure, Bishop Clark invited them to a prayer meeting at the Papacy.
Only then did they realize that this gentle-looking archbishop actually came from the Demon King's Forest.
Clark told them some things about the Demon King's Forest, such as the currency exchange there, the division of the forest into different areas, and that no matter which area they went to, they only needed to keep heading north to reach the Demon King's Abyss.
Now that I've actually stepped into the Demon King's Forest, it's impossible not to feel nervous.
Arnold naively estimated the journey, thinking it wouldn't be long before they reached the Demon King's Abyss—a month? Or even half a month, since they were fast travelers.
The truth is, they stayed in the Fisherman's Tomb for four whole months and still haven't left.
Because—they entered the real Fisherman's Tomb.
This enormous tomb, whose opening time is unknown, and the dilapidated stone sculptures stared at the group of heroes. If it weren't for the food inside, these people would probably have starved to death long ago.
But this food... probably has a problem too.
The Fisherman's Tomb is riddled with curses. Even the most talented magician, who has never encountered curses before, would spend several days trying to resolve a single curse, let alone the many others that are intertwined together.
Four months have passed, and several young people are still wandering through the vast Fisherman's Tomb.
Deep within the Fisherman's Tomb, there stands a solitary house.
A fire was burning inside the house, the flames flickering, and all around was silent, as if isolated from the world.
Suddenly, a figure emerged from the darkness, stood in front of the door, and knocked.
There was no response from inside, so he knocked again patiently, but after a while, there was still no response.
This time, he didn't maintain his good temper and smashed the thick wooden door into pieces with a single punch.
The demons sleeping inside were suddenly awakened.
He sat up and looked at the figure at the door.
After careful examination, the Seventh Protector frowned, but unlike his colleagues, he didn't rush to kill. Instead, he asked, "Who are you? What are you doing at the Fisherman's Tomb?"
The young man standing at the door looked up. He had a flute tucked into his waistband. Hearing this, he glanced at the Seventh Protector with slight surprise and said, "You didn't know that someone had entered the Fisherman's Tomb?"
"If you're referring to heroes and the like, then of course I know."
The Seventh Protector leaned against the headboard again, looking like he was still half asleep. "You're here to protect them? If that's the case, then you must know how the Fisherman's Tomb was opened."
As a rare pure-blooded demon, the Seventh Protector is the weakest among the many protectors. This is mainly because he cannot accept indiscriminately devouring both meat and vegetables. He prefers to sleep rather than devour other creatures.
Veris looked at this unusual demon, examined him again, and after confirming that he was not the person he was looking for, although he was somewhat disappointed, he quickly suppressed it.
He asked, "Do you know who I am?"
The Seventh Protector lowered his eyes and said, "You must be that Pope."
Veris was genuinely surprised. He recognized this demon, who was much younger than Florian, but this demon definitely didn't recognize him, yet he recognized him at first glance.
He couldn't help but laugh: "You're just as smart as your father."
The Seven Protectors heard a certain word and slightly opened their eyes: "Cleverness will only cost us our lives."
Just like his father.
When his colleagues were already itching to teach the hero's team a lesson, his first instinct was to avoid them. However, as the demon in charge of the Fisherman's Tomb, there was no way he could avoid them.
The only thing he could do was to keep these people locked up... But he didn't expect that these people wouldn't be able to get out for four months. Has the world really changed?
Fisherman's Tomb is a site of mermaids. Hundreds of years ago, fishermen captured beautiful mermaids and sold them to various parts of the continent to make a fortune.
Finally, the merfolk, with the idea of mutual destruction, set a curse: twenty-three years before the Orlando era, all fishermen who caught merfolk died of a fish plague.
The profession of fisherman will not become extinct, and the mermaid race has not completely disappeared.
Centuries have passed, and both sides seem to have completely forgotten the blood feud of that year, continuing to live their lives as before.
Only this desolate and dilapidated huge grave tells the story of the blood and tears of that time.
Pearls scattered on the ground turned to ash and mud, the skeleton decayed, and after being covered by grass and trees, new life emerged.
Some new low-level magical beasts have been born.
The Fisherman's Tomb contains many curses, but most of them were set back then. There is only one solution to all the curses. Although the Seven Guardians also set some new curses, they shouldn't be enough to trap the legendary hero, right?
The Seventh Protector was puzzled. He perked up and watched as the human youth, acting as if he were old friends, sat down in a chair next to the fireplace and fiddled with the flute that had originally hung at his waist.
Veris was happy to talk to him: "This generation of heroes has the strongest talent, but the weakest strength."
The seven guardians remained calm: "The Fisherman's Tomb is their inevitable route."
If these people really died at the Fisherman's Tomb, then he has nothing to say.
Veris naturally understood his unspoken meaning. Turning his head to look at the roaring fireplace, he said, "They will eventually get out of here. The 'signpost' of the group has not yet awakened. The Fisherman's Tomb is the opportunity for it to awaken."
“I thought it would be the Labyrinth of Sighs.” The Seventh Guardian chuckled.
It seemed like mockery.
"Then what is the Pope's purpose in making this special trip?"
The Seven Protectors leaned against the headboard, staring at the young man. His face was illuminated by the flames, and in the silent depths of the Fisherman's Tomb, it seemed as if this place had become an interrogation ground.
Veris shrugged. "Just like you said, I'm here to protect them. After all, being stuck here for four months is... strange."
In the end, he only said two words.
The Seventh Guardian was arguably one of the most intelligent among all the demons, and he immediately realized something: "They could have left long ago, right?"
There can only be two reasons for staying at the Fisherman's Tomb.
Break all curses.
Or—solve him.
As the thought arose, voices echoed from the silent depths of the Fisherman's Tomb, followed by footsteps.
The Seventh Protector, with a cold face, finally got out of bed. His robes were only slightly disheveled. He turned his head to look out the window, as if he had already seen those people.
He won't just sit and wait to die.
However, he looked back at Veris, who was sitting by the fireplace, his eyes scrutinizing him. "And you? Your Holiness, did you come here to help them?"
Veris was still fiddling with the flute, which looked brand new and was probably recently made.
He smiled, seemingly trying to break the tense atmosphere in the room, then stood up: "Take me to see the secret of the Fisherman's Tomb?"
The Seven Protectors' expressions changed slightly.
Veris put his hat back on, his handsome face hidden in the shadows, the dog-shaped eagle on his shoulder still illuminated by the firelight, seemingly alive, staring at the Seven Guardians.
The young demon took a deep breath and nodded.
The door to the house had long been damaged. He frowned as he stepped out of the house and saw the group of heroes not far away.
The boy shouted, but he ignored him.
Veris stood behind him and said softly, "Let's go."
The two figures paused for a moment, then left in another direction.
A magical wave of light pierced through the darkness and flew in. The Seventh Guardian paused slightly. The power contained in that wave was enough to startle even him.
But just as the magical light wave was about to hit them, it vanished without a trace, like a drop of water disappearing into the ocean.
The young man's lazy voice rang in my ears: "Don't worry, I'll protect you for the sake of our old friendship."
The Seventh Protector twitched the corner of his mouth. Yes, what was he worried about? The person beside him was someone even the Old Demon King couldn't defeat.
He suddenly wanted to turn around and look at the expressions of those humans. That attack was definitely not weak, but it disappeared like a joke. The expressions on those people's faces must have been quite interesting.
Unfortunately, they had already stepped into the true secrets of the Fisherman's Tomb.
A dark magic circle flashed by, and in the blink of an eye, the surroundings changed. Veris raised his hand, and a cluster of white flames appeared, illuminating the area.
On the ancient altar in front of me stands a statue.
The statue is no taller than an arm, with a blurred face and decorated with thorn-like patterns on its body.
He was sitting in a posture of holding a bow and shooting an arrow, his figure graceful and elegant.
The Seven Protectors stared fixedly at the statue, and a heavy weight finally lifted from their hearts.
“This is the secret of the Fisherman’s Tomb,” he said in a low voice.
"The curse of the unknown deity will continuously give rise to new curses, devouring the already weakened curses, and ensuring that the Fisherman's Tomb is not harmed."
Those young people were indeed formidable. The Seventh Protector smiled wryly. He had thought they were trapped, but unexpectedly, they had managed to eradicate most of the curse on the Fisherman's Tomb.
Then we made our way to the depths of the Fisherman's Tomb.
Veris was also looking at the statue, and after a moment, he smiled.
"No wonder your father was so determined to keep this secret. I didn't press him for details because he wouldn't tell me."
The young man's voice was filled with an indescribable emotion: "But it was what killed him."
He walked over, stood on the altar, and reached out to pick up the statue. The statue, as long as an arm, was illuminated by the flames, revealing every detail.
Long, slender, fair fingertips gently caressed the rough stone surface, revealing the uneven body covered in thorns.
He turned around and looked at the young demon: "This is a statue of the goddess of love."
"Moreover, it is the first statue of the goddess of love in history."
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Author's Note: I might experience writer's block while finishing... If there's no update today, it will be the next day [poor face].
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