As his thoughts raced, he continued reading. 'In fact, Grandfather suspects... that the so-called "Calamities" are actually indescribable gods.'
'Gods who have lost control and wantonly squander their divine power are given the name "Calamity" by humans kept in the dark.'
The Five Great Calamities: the twin-tailed snake, Hellbell; the immortal malady, Zobae Disease; the humanoid weapon, Brion; the beast that trades life for pleasure, Pap; and the gaseous lifeform, Ai. Even—Nanika!
While it acted as a "Wishing Machine" to grant the desires of others, it also caused unimaginable disasters to those unrelated to the wish. Could it be one of those "out-of-control gods" spoken of by the ancestor of the Hui Guo Rou family?
Sean's brow furrowed. His mind fell silent as he swept his gaze across his mental landscape. Nanika was sitting by the edge of the lake, kicking its small feet. Seeing him look over, it smiled happily and asked, "What's wrong, Big Brother?"
"It's nothing, I just wanted to see you," Sean said with a forced smile. His consciousness manifested to lightly stroke Nanika's small head as he recalled the original story.
Rather than calling it an "out-of-control god," it was more accurate to say it was like Alluka's second personality.
But even that didn't quite make sense. No matter how twisted a normal person's second personality was, it was still just a personality. It wouldn't come attached to such perverted abilities.
Setting aside the mechanisms of "Requests" and "Demands," the simple fact that any "Wish" made to it was guaranteed to come true was not something a mere second personality could achieve.
'If that's the case... if even "gods" can fall or lose control... then what the hell is the situation on the Dark Continent?'
Sean simply couldn't imagine it.
"Gulp, gulp... Mito! Give me another glass!" Ging sat next to Sean, raising his hand to gesture to Mito. Catching her dagger-like glare, he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, not daring to interrupt Sean. At this moment, silence was the best answer.
Crossing hands is like climbing a mountain; every step leads to a new heaven. After another glass of beer, Ging let out a burp and looked at Sean seriously. "Now you understand, don't you? This is why we need to form a team. That continent is simply not a place a single person can wander through."
Taking a deep breath, the Boar said solemnly, "Before chasing the power of faith, one must first become a child of the 'gods.'"
If one couldn't even reach the realm of the Five-Fold Limit Break, yet harbored the delusion of relying on personal bravery to pursue those even more ethereal "gods," the final result would be gaining nothing at all.
"And only the Dark Continent can break the Five-Fold Limit. That is why I... why I must go. It's also the reason why the Chairman and that person from your family had to go, even at the risk of their lives!"
No one wanted to stop progressing. Being stuck at the Four-Fold Limit Break was frustrating not just for Netero, Zigg, and Maha, but even for Sean!
Furthermore, an existence that could KO Zigg and Netero with a single punch would definitely know that the human world existed in the center of Lake Mobius.
In fact, it was possible that the Batocea Republic, the V5, and Kakin were all just livestock being raised by such beings. If they were in a bad mood one day, it wouldn't be impossible for them to slaughter everyone.
Therefore... 'I must improve my strength as quickly as possible. Otherwise, this fake "Four-Fold Limit Break" definitely won't be enough to hold its own.'
A sudden sense of crisis welled up in his heart. Sean felt that now was far from the time for him to rest.
Ging noticed the focus in Sean's eyes and felt a sense of empathy. It was exactly how he felt when he first opened the notebook—his heart was incredibly restless!
That kind of pressure coming from a higher-dimensional plane was unimaginably vast. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it caused him to toss and turn, unable to sleep.
The pages of the notebook continued to turn with a rustle.
'To return to the topic, after that giant struck me back with a palm, he did not choose to continue hunting me.'
'I endured the sharp pain in my chest and looked back at him. Within his eyes, hidden in the grey mist—whoosh—two divine fires ignited.'
'He just watched me quietly, as if looking at an insignificant little insect.'
'But for some reason, I always felt like he was smiling. Yes... that kind of meaningful smile. It was as if he knew where I came from and where I was going. He saw through my background with a single glance.'
'At the time, I was too busy running for my life to look back. Thinking about it later, I broke out in a cold sweat. I immediately told this news to my companion. My companion then made a bold decision.'
'He would go back and quietly investigate further.'
'Because both he and I knew that when things are abnormal, there must be a catch. If I didn't go, or if he didn't go... even if I returned, my mind would never be at peace. It was just...'
'I didn't expect that after he went, he would never come back.'
'What an idiot,' Sean thought. 'Almost killed by a single palm and still thinking about going back. Should I say this guy had a hole in his head or that he was too brave?'
If Sean encountered a teammate that stupid, he might just take out the teammate himself before the giant could, just to avoid being dragged down into unnecessary danger later.
"Sigh... I think the ancestor of the Hui Guo Rou family probably tried to persuade him at the time, but unfortunately, he didn't listen." Seeing Sean curl his lip, Ging knew where he had reached in the reading. He leaned back against the chair and said softly, "I reckon they were careless. They thought that since that 'god' clearly had the strength to kill him but let him leave instead..."
"It suggested there was more to the story. Combined with his companion's stubbornness, going back to investigate was within the realm of reason."
"And then? What happened after that?" Sean continued to flip through the notebook, only to find that it stopped abruptly. There were signs of pages being torn out. The young man didn't even need to think to know this was done intentionally.
"The follow-up?" Ging shook his head. "There is no follow-up."
"If you want to know the rest of the content, you can only go to Kakin!"
'Kakin? Damn it... after all that buildup, you're only giving me this?'
Sean was furious. He flicked his hand and tossed the notebook back to Ging. To hell with the Zodiacs. Every single one of them was a riddle-maker and a scheming old bastard.
The young man tapped the table and shouted angrily at Mito, "Miss Mito! Put today's meal on this dog's tab!"
"You got it!" Mito pulled back the kitchen curtain and gave Sean a bright smile. Combined with the headscarf wrapping her orange hair, she looked breathtakingly radiant.
"Good kid, you haven't fallen for my sister-in-law, have you?" Ging's eyes twitched violently. He didn't forget to remind Sean: "I'm warning you, that person in your family is still waiting for you. If you start thinking about other things, it might just cost you your life!"
Sean gave a cold laugh. "That's my great-great-grandfather. Do you actually believe what you're saying?"
"Besides, I've already smacked Netero around. Why would I be afraid of one more old man?"
Old relics should be swept into the corners of history because the new era simply doesn't have a boat they can board!