The Record of Unusual Creatures

Y’zaks pressed his hand on Andaherr’s forehead, a faint green flame filled his eyes, and his hands were full of incomprehensible demonic runes. A chain-like circle appeared around Andaherr. Usually, a demon would need a series of complicated rituals, seductions, and preparations to extract the soul of the stronger subject, but Y’zaks did not have to do that. He was not retrieving her soul, and what was more he was the most powerful demon king in history. He was the best of the best when it came to the business of the soul, ahead of all other intelligent beings on this planet in this field. That was why he made light work of the ritual.

Of course, a more important reason was that Mind Shackle spell had affected Andaherr.

Hasse, Teuton, and several other demon hunters were nervously waiting beside Andaherr and at the same time. They had never seen demon like Y’zaks. During the ritual, Teuton was a little curious. He said to himself, “His power is different from those of other demons I’ve seen.”

Appearing like an expert, Hasse said, “Maybe he’s of the minority.”

No one could see what was at the soul level, but Andaherr expression did change slightly as the ritual progressed. After a few minutes, Y’zaks slowly retracted his power, the elderly demon hunter’s eyes were full of spirit again. She blinked and woke up from her inertness. The whole ritual was smoother than Hao Ren had expected.

For demon hunters with strong mental and magic abilities, it was not difficult for them to break free from the Mind Shackle spell as long as their consciousness was awake.

Andaherr took a deep breath. When her eyes adapted to the environment and saw the people around her, she stumbled backward. Her first reaction was reached into her cloak for her weapon, but she found it was not there. The silver dagger she always carried on her waist was gone, probably she had dropped it somewhere.

Hasse called out at her, “Andaherr, easy. There are no enemies here.”

“Elder Hasse?” Andaherr recognized him who stood by her side. She tried to shake off her grogginess. “You guys are… Where am I now?” she asked.

“As you can see,” Hasse stepped aside so that Andaherr could have an overview of the hall, “you are still in the secret realm of the Ancattero family. We just found you. What happened here?” he asked.

Andaherr saw the chaotic scene in the hall and finally remembered the scene of carnage that happened here a month ago. Her face turned downcast. She first noticed Y’zaks, Hao Ren, and the others, and remembered the phantom of lava and flame that appeared to her in her soul. “Wait a minute. I remember a demon woke me up. They’re not demon hunters, are they?” she asked.

Y’zaks grinned. “I am that demon,” he said.

“They are with us at the moment,” Hasse explained, figuring that since Andaherr came here with Amatura to have a friendly meeting with the otherworldlings, she might have an open attitude towards the otherworldlings, so he cast aside his doubt. “This is Y’zaks. This is Hao Ren—”

Before Hasse continued, Vivian stepped up and introduced herself. “I’m Vivian Ancestor. I guess you already know me. Since I’m here, you should know that the demon hunters and the otherworldlings are working together now,” she said.

Only now Andaherr noticed Vivian. She was stunned, covered her pockets with her hands and stepped backward. “I don’t have any money!” she said.

Expecting that Vivian would impress Andaherr with her senior aura, Andaherr’s unexpected reaction caught everyone by surprise. Hao Ren froze and looked at his pauper tenant. “What happened between you two?”

Vivian could not wrap her brain around it. “What could happen between us except a fight? You can’t seriously think that I borrowed money from the demon hunters,” she said.

Andaherr’s reaction was purely instinctive. She was still in confusion. Now, realizing that she had overacted, she came up awkwardly to Vivian.

“You have grudges against me?” Vivian asked carefully, thinking that she must have unwittingly beaten her or her parents up in the past.

“You…” Andaherr pasted on a smile. “Forget it. It’s no big deal anyway. I was still small at that time, and it happened a long time ago.”

“Have you two finished yet?” Hasse finally could not help but interrupted. “Elder Andaherr, can you tell us more about what happened here? Why did you cast a spell on yourself, and why did you wander around the Ancattero family resting place?” he asked.

Andaherr’s face looked serious. She took a deep breath and asked, “What is the situation on the outside?”

“The Shades of Chaos have escaped, there are reported cases of attacks on the demon hunters and otherworldlings, but the situation is not epidemic yet. We are here to investigate the incident. The Council of Elders have lost contact with you lot for a month, and now the situation is chaotic,” Hasse said.

“A month?” Andaherr was a little surprised. “I didn’t expect it’s been a month. Anyway, it could be worse if all those things escape in the open,” she said.

Andaherr suddenly moaned, burying her head in her hands as if in pain. Seeing her condition, Hasse became worried. “What happened to you?” he asked.

“I’m fine. Maybe it’s just the sequelae of the Mind Shackle,” Andaherr said. Though looking pale, she recovered gradually. “Doesn’t matter. The Shade of Chaos left me alone when they found that I had gone insane. I’ve no danger of losing control,” she said.

Vivian’s brows pulled together. She asked, “What happened here? Why is the seal destroyed?”

“No one destroyed the seal,” Andaherr said with a low voice. “We misunderstood the essence and relationship between the Shade of Chaos, innate hostility, the Solar Roulette, and the ‘seal.’ Coincidentally, our behavior triggered the Solar Roulette to release the Shades of Chaos,” she said.

Now Hao Ren was confused. “What behavior? How did the Solar Roulette work again? Was it not a seal made by the Ancattero family?” he asked.

That question, in turn, baffled Andaherr. “Ancattero made the Solar Roulette? How do you know? They didn’t make the Solar Roulette, it was only in their custody. It’s an ancient device, which no one knows its origins. We only know that the Shades of Chaos came from the roulette, so we suspect that the roulette is affecting the innate hostility between the races.”

“The Solar Roulette affects the innate hostility?” This one thing aroused Hao Ren curiosity. “Amatura found out this?” he asked.

Andaherr nodded. “Elder Amatura has always believed that some outside forces have implanted the innate hostility in the minds of the various races, and the Solar Roulette is the medium, so he wanted to cut off the connection between the Roulette and the outside world.”

“Then thing went wrong?” Y’zaks asked with a hoarse voice. “You mean the communion? Where is the Solar Roulette?”

Andaherr let out a sigh. “I think it’d be better for the custodians of the Solar Roulette to tell you that—if they could recover their consciousness,” she said.

Vivian was wide-eyed. “Are you talking about the Ancattero family? They’re still alive?” she asked.

“Vogus and some members of the Ancattero family fled to the sanctuary. They probably are still alive, but they are all frozen,” Andaherr said, nodding her head gently. “But I’m not sure. I last saw them before I shut the door behind them, and I wasn’t exactly at my best mental state at the time.”

Vivian and Hao Ren asked in unison, “Where is the sanctuary?”

“It’s near where you guys found me,” said Andaherr. “Let me show you the way.”