Chapter 131: Not Really a Demon (Part 1/2)
Translator: Strivon
Luo Nan used his mental senses to scan Baze from inside out. The more he looked, the greater the pressure became. The more he looked, the more uncertain he grew. He cursed An Weng in his mind for a time.
This freaking An Weng. He does not want to take responsibility and just screws over his own subordinate... Fine then. An Weng was not paying any attention to things on this end, as he was obsessed with working on the demon in the background.
"You can save him," Fairchild repeated these same words. His faith in Luo Nan far exceeded Luo Nan's faith in himself.
"How can I save him?" Luo Nan did not need to beat around the bush when he talked with Fairchild. He responded unhappily, "His heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney... none of them are functioning. All his bodily functions are a complete mess, all for the sake of amassing a most explosive power..."
Suddenly, Luo Nan’s words trailed off when he reached this point. Conversations on the mental plane allowed dialog to convey information at an efficiency that far exceeded normal physical speech.
Fairchild understood Luo Nan's difficulties and problems, and Luo Nan understood Fairchild's reasoning. Then, Luo Nan used even simpler and precise words to express his thoughts.
"You want me to erect an order frame upon him and bind him?"
"That's right." Fairchild's thought process was rough because it originated from the time he received the feeling of order on the mental plane in Frost River Reality with Luo Nan. He let Luo Nan speak the final few words to clinch the point, just like before. He praised Luo Nan, "An order frame... It's a good description."
Of course, it was good. This was what An Weng was doing right now.
Yes, and there was Luo Nan as well.
Having experienced the clash with An Weng on the altar frames, Luo Nan had some new understandings about matters he previously found unclear.
The altar and the sacrificial ritual represented a sort of order. Though the nature of the demon was chaos, a certain order controlled it. Chaos required a large frame, otherwise, the chaos would be completely meaningless.
The Human-Faced Arachnid was an excellent example of this concept. The Wraith Sign’s many successes with the sacrificial ritual were living proofs. The existence of this chaos could exist within a high level of order. This was the only explanation for why a Darksider life form—which could only rely on instinct to move—could use highly efficient methods to make correct decisions most of the time.
Right now, Baze was a demon in human form. Though there were parts that were a bit incongruous with this description, he was essentially no different from a demon. It was naturally very difficult to restore him to a human-like state. However, if the goal was just to maintain his current state... It was a step toward being feasible.
Luo Nan mulled things over for a little bit and said, "If you don't mind him being in this state, perhaps I can keep him alive. However, his fundamental nature will be completely changed this way. Is there a point?"
Fairchild gave a slight nod and looked down at the Baze that gasped for breath. This fellow's organs had long since twisted, which caused him immeasurable pain. Dirt and blood stained his dark face. His mouth was no exception, and he looked as hideous as a demon.
Baze felt Fairchild’s eyes on him and locked gazes with half bulging eyes. Then, Baze's pupils dilated, as he was no longer able to focus them. He looked even more terrifying now. Moreover, the skin that bore this terrifying and hideous face rapidly turned dark and gray. Baze's ability to struggle was diminishing, and he grew stiffer and stiffer. It looked like the flames of his life could extinguish at any time.
In regards to life, the nature of chaos was infinitely close to death.
Conversely, if one possessed life, one's nature might not necessarily be of pure chaos. There would always be a glimmer of hope.
"Go on then," Fairchild responded as such.
Luo Nan ended the conversation, and the radiance of the Format Pyramid in Baze's chest grew brighter and brighter. It represented Luo Nan's order as it formed an influence upon Baze.
However, just the blessing of the Format Pyramid was not enough. The addition of a more direct and efficient method was required.
Luo Nan needed to refer to some things, but then his consciousness had that awful experience with the altar frames. The information that came from the depths of the mental plane distracted his consciousness for a moment, which made his mind wander a bit.
An Weng appeared to have gained a new level of control power over the demon in the background. Ouyang Chen was completely dispelled from the shadow pillow, which rapidly left the Logic World.
"Focus!"
Fairchild admonished Luo Nan. He meant that Luo Nan should not get involved, and he should not get close.
Luo Nan understood what Fairchild meant. However, the altar frames were entangled. It was not something he could stay out of even if he wanted to.
In fact, when Luo Nan exerted influence on Baze, his entanglement with An Weng floated once again to the surface.
An Weng had not been paying attention to Baze. However, the chaotic nature that Luo Nan was dealing with when he erected the order frame was none other than the portion stripped from the demon that An Weng was trying to control. If Luo Nan were to trace back to the source of this chaos nature, he would not be able to avoid making contact with An Weng's Scales of Truth frame. Instantly, this hidden relationship poked out as clear as day.
An Weng and Luo Nan met once again, but this was no happy chance meeting. It was the collision of two order frames on a higher level. A clash and a chase.
Oh, there was also President Ouyang Chen. He had joined in on the fun with his mental senses.
This was the first time that Luo Nan had sensed the existence of the President so clearly. However, Ouyang Chen's existence soon turned fuzzy.
This was because Ouyang Chen was 'further' away.
A good example would be a diving competition. Luo Nan and An Weng both had clear directions, so they headed directly to the destination. Ouyang Chen's diving depth was on par with them, but he was not familiar with the underwater environment. He wasted a lot of energy, as he tried to find his target. Luo Nan and An Weng left him behind with their cheat-like abilities. In the end, Ouyang Chen had gotten lost. Needless to say, things were worse for other people.
After Ouyang Chen dropped out from the competition, An Weng took the energy he had focused on Ouyang Chen and placed most of it on Luo Nan. He scanned Luo Nan over and over and paid extreme attention to the latter.
It was no mystery why An Weng was acting this way. Right now, the holy space had permeated within the center of the shadow pillar and An Weng’s attempts to control the demon had yet to succeed completely. Luo Nan had traced upriver through Baze's chaos element and arrived over yonder.
The magnitude the two occupied was no different in terms of internal, external, and level. Then the problem came: two frames. Two elemental types. Two directions. There was only one demon in the background; who would it listen to?
It did not want to listen to either of them!
Restless roar permeated the Logic World through the countless curtains of the mental plane. The power of fury catalyzed the shadow clouds into maelstroms that seemed to contain substance. They eroded and ripped apart everything that they covered. Dust filled the sky as far as the eyes could see, and the three buildings began to shake even harder.
Such a reaction allowed Luo Nan to be a step more confident in his understandings. The demon in the background might be stronger than the Human-Faced Arachnid by a thousandfold, but the two were the same in nature.
This fellow's reaction was practically a carbon copy of the reaction of the burning wraith, which was the predecessor of the Wraith Sign back on the warship a dozen or so days ago. They were both completely helpless when faced with this situation.
Only a order frame of a higher level could achieve the powerful instinct nurtured within their chaos. It was currently in great pain from the attacks to its order frame, but it would be in far less pain if it got captured.
Right now, An Weng was tracing through the concrete layers of the order frame to get a feel for its structure. He made a matching emulation of the order frame to realize control over the demon. He had a clear direction. The holy space had likely indicated this direction to him.
However, Luo Nan had his own direction as well!