Chapter 304 - 292: Unfair
The stray dog visiting late at night dissolved, its body breaking down into countless slender, black-and-white hairs. The hairs writhed and spread across the walls, turning the entire rental apartment into a grotesque monochrome jungle.
The smell of dampness and rust filled the air.
Where the Pirate Dog had been crouching, a tall silhouette was now cast upon the wall.
It had an enormous, trident-shaped head—if one could call it a head. The three-pronged appendage nearly touched the ceiling, and below its neck was a writhing, amorphous mass that constantly expanded and contracted.
Luh Yao activated the [True Sight Curse] with Isabel’s eyeball.
...
[Cerberus LV62] Harlow [Duel Stance] [Weakness]
Life Value: 3300/3300
Mana Value: 1051/2991
Damage: 35
Defense: 29
Speed: 14
[Soul Interrogator]
Has a powerful suppressive effect on all of the Dead.
[Corrosion Mastery LV17]
Slowly restores Life Value and Mana Value by devouring corpses or decaying matter, and can also obtain information contained within what is consumed.
[Poison Immunity]
The vast majority of poisons are ineffective.
[Hunter’s Mystery LV5]
By identifying an object the target has touched, or a related item, this ability can lock onto the target’s specific coordinates within a world.
[Duel Stance LV2]
Reverts to its true form, appearing as the complete version of itself from its prime. The duration of Duel Stance depends on this ability’s level.
...
At one in the morning, a duel abruptly started in the rental apartment, only to end in the blink of an eye.
"Unfair!"
The Pirate Dog lay exhausted on the floor, the Blood Knight’s greatsword and the Tyrant’s Bone Sword crossed at its neck. Above its forehead, Isabel’s Holy Sword hovered menacingly.
It struggled to lift its head. "A duel is one-on-one! Three against one! That’s not fair!"
Luh Yao, holding a plate of ribs, sucked a mouthful of the tender, spicy meat off the bone.
"We live in a society governed by laws now. Dueling is out of style."
The Pirate Dog looked indignant.
Luh Yao had been startled at first. ’Where did this weird dog just pop out from?’
Through the True Sight Curse, he saw that the Pirate Dog wasn’t weak. To have such stats even while under the [Weakness] debuff was impressive. Unfortunately for it, it had run into his three Apostles.
Its defeat and capture were only to be expected.
’Although I’m curious about this dog’s origins,’ he thought, ’eating my midnight snack is more important right now. If these steaming-hot ribs get cold, the flavor and texture will be much worse.’
Luh Yao took a sip of coke and went back to eating his ribs.
Isabel interrogated the prisoner. "Where did you come from, dog?"
"I am not a dog!"
Harlow craned its neck defiantly. "Do not insult me! I am no primitive creature like a dog!"
Coming from a Dalmatian, the words weren’t very convincing.
Isabel frowned. "Are you a wolf?"
"Not a wolf either!"
Harlow bared its teeth in anger. "I am Insomniac Harrow! I come from the noble Netherworld, and I am one of the Cerberus who guard the Gate of the Netherworld!"
’Netherworld?’
Luh Yao wiped his mouth with a napkin. "The Netherworld you speak of, is it the Netherworld where all the Dead go, or the one that tortures Ghosts?"
"The Netherworld doesn’t torture Ghosts! You may be a Pioneer, sir, but you can’t slander us!"
Even with blades at its neck, Harlow still did its best to defend its home.
Luh Yao thought as he continued to eat his ribs.
In the legends and myths recorded by humans, people from different regions have different definitions and understandings of the Netherworld.
’Looks like the Netherworld might actually exist.’
"Tell me about the Netherworld," Luh Yao said.
"In your dreams! You can kill me, but I’ll never betray the Netherworld!"
Though a prisoner, Harlow possessed a strange sort of pride and resolve.
Luh Yao placed his bowl in front of it. There was still one rib left inside.
"What do you mean by this?"
Harlow said angrily, "I’m not a dog! Are you treating me like some common beggar!?"
"No, it’s just a late-night snack for our guest."
Luh Yao took off his disposable gloves and clapped his hands. "We’ve had our spar, we’ve made our scene, that’s enough. Let our guest go."
Isabel and the other two retracted their weapons, but they didn’t budge. Their eyes remained fixed on the visitor from the Netherworld, ready to subdue it at a moment’s notice.
Harlow hesitated. It licked its nose, its eyes fixed on the perfectly marbled, braised rib in the bowl. It tried to look away, but couldn’t stop its gaze from drifting back to the bowl.
"Well, since you’re being so courteous... I appreciate the hospitality..."
It mumbled, then buried its head in the bowl and began to wolf down the rib.
In no time, Harlow had licked the large rib clean, leaving only a dry, white bone.
After eating Luh Yao’s food, the Pirate Dog became much more polite. "To visit so late at night and still receive your hospitality... I am truly grateful."
"Earlier, I only wanted to get closer to get a better read on Cancong’s memories. I meant no harm—the fact that they were stored with you means Cancong must trust you a great deal. Please forgive my rashness."
"It’s nothing. We can be friends."
Luh Yao seized the opening. "Harlow, I’m very curious. What is the Netherworld really like?"
"In various human records and oral traditions, some say the Netherworld is a prison for the dead, others say it’s a cage for punishing Ghosts, and some claim it’s a place of reincarnation."
Harlow sat primly on the floor and explained, "The Nether God forbids us from revealing the current state of the Netherworld to outsiders."
"However, as you are an honored Pioneer, I can give a general overview that doesn’t violate the Oracle."
"The Netherworld, like this place, is a nearly solidified region of a High Realm Dimension. It’s a collective term for a vast cluster of worlds. The Nether God is the sovereign and protector of the Netherworld."
"Unlike this world, the Netherworld connects to numerous other worlds through a special rule. Low Realm Dimensional Worlds are in constant motion; their Dead transform into Ghosts and are drawn into the Sea of Descent, which is the Nether River of the Netherworld. High Realm Dimensions, on the other hand, are stationary and thus cannot naturally produce Ghosts."
"It’s a form of one-way anchoring."
The word "anchoring" triggered a memory for Luh Yao.
The Golden Field had the ability [Anchor World], but the prerequisite was that a world-level overlap must occur first.
Harlow continued, "This one-way anchoring allows the Dead to follow the flow and continuity of a world’s Rule Power, passing through one world after another on their winding journey to the Netherworld..."
Under the influence of Rule Power, Ghosts are pulled toward their final destination: the Netherworld. They are like clusters of meteorites flying through the cosmos, traversing the vast and boundless World-Dimension Space.
Unlike meteorites, Ghosts are pulled, passed along, and gathered by world after world. They are like a long-distance train headed for a distant shore, making temporary stops at each station to pick up new passengers before continuing on its way.
After this long, posthumous journey, they finally arrive at the gathering place of the Dead: the Netherworld’s Sea of Descent.
Luh Yao listened with curiosity. "During this long journey, can Ghosts be intercepted or stranded?"
"Some are."
Harlow couldn’t resist licking the bottom of the bowl. "They have free will. If they don’t want to go to the land of the Dead, no one forces them. It’s just a tradition established by the rule, that’s all."
An idea popped into Luh Yao’s head.
’In that case... couldn’t I station some Death Gods in the other simulator worlds to intercept some of these Undead and send them to Saniluo, the City of the Dead?’
’Another source of population!’
Luh Yao directly asked Harlow about this idea.
Its dog eyes widened. "Well..."
"Is it not allowed?"
Luh Yao was a little disappointed.
As a High Realm Dimensional World with a long history, the Netherworld’s power was beyond doubt. It was capable of one-way anchoring across the rules of numerous worlds.
Angering the Netherworld over a few Ghost populations just wasn’t worth it.
"It’s not impossible. The Netherworld wouldn’t really care."
Harlow scratched its head vigorously with a paw. "The Dragon Race does the same thing. Most of their dead don’t enter the Netherworld; they remain in the Dragon Tomb."
"It’s just that intercepting passing Ghosts from other worlds involves a series of difficulties. It’s far harder than it sounds. It’s time-consuming, requires a lot of effort, and rarely yields results. I think you’d be better off giving up on the idea."
"Understood. Thank you for the warning."
Luh Yao asked Harlow, "Want some more?"
"Oh, yes!"
Harlow licked its nose.
Xiaohuo brought out two more ribs and placed the plate respectfully in front of Harlow.
"Harlow, why did you leave your home to come here?"
Luh Yao’s question made the Pirate Dog’s eyes turn melancholic, as if the ribs in the bowl had suddenly lost their flavor.
"I came here for a duel, a life-or-death duel arranged many years ago."
"But when I arrived, I couldn’t find them."