Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

Chapter 217: Chapter 216: The New Generation Fire Mist Warrior

I must admit, when Fang Zheng heard Nanoka’s response, he was somewhat surprised.

After all, on their journey thus far, every Fire Mist Warrior they had encountered bore deep-seated hatred for the Followers of the Crimson Realm. Only some, due to the passing of much time or after having killed enough enemies, no longer acted impulsively, and instead viewed it as a regular “profession.”

And then, there were others who still doggedly pursued the disasters caused by the Followers of the Crimson Realm, using hatred as a driving force to keep hunting them down. Like Marjorine, who appeared in Goki City before, Fang Zheng didn’t know exactly why that woman had become what she was, but judging by her appearance, she probably wasn’t too different.

But Nanoka was completely different from them.

She seemingly perceived the role of a Fire Mist Warrior simply as a job, a mission… How should I put it? As if becoming a Magical Girl equals saving the world. Yet, from her tone, there wasn’t a hint of any personal vendetta against the Followers of the Crimson Realm.

“Why did you want to become a Fire Mist Warrior? Did a Follower of the Crimson Realm eat someone from your family?”

...

“No, that’s not it.”

In response to Fang Zheng’s curious inquiry, Nanoka honestly shook her head.

“I am an orphan and grew up in an orphanage. Later, a teacher came to the orphanage, said he saw potential in me, and so he took me to an external residence. He was responsible for teaching and training me to become a Fire Mist Warrior… Don’t let my appearance fool you, but I have also worked with my teacher on several occasions! I have personally dealt with quite a few Followers of the Crimson Realm myself!”

As she said this, as if to make sure she wasn’t looked down upon, Nanoka quickly raised her head. But becoming aware of her own predicament, she couldn’t help but look down dejectedly at the ground again.

“It’s just that… it’s just that this is my first solo battle against a Follower of the Crimson Realm since I left my teacher’s tutelage…”

“That’s really interesting…”

Fang Zheng couldn’t help but show a contemplative expression upon hearing what Nanoka had said.

“Were you the only one being trained as a Fire Mist Warrior?”

“No, there were many others, it’s just that I graduated earlier than they did.”

“Then, did your teacher ever tell you why he chose you to be Fire Mist Warriors?”

Looking at the girl before him, Fang Zheng’s interest grew stronger.

“To my knowledge, almost all Fire Mist Warriors have personal vendettas against the Followers of the Crimson Realm, and they are willing to sacrifice everything for revenge. That’s easy to understand. But why choose you?”

“This…”

Facing Fang Zheng’s question, this time Nanoka started to furrow her brows in thought, and just then, the bracelet on her wrist began to speak.

“It’s due to Sealing.”

“Sealing?”

“Yes.”

The Demon God of the Crimson Realm within the bracelet sounded like a very timid individual as she cautiously explained to Fang Zheng.

“In the past, before the Followers of the Crimson Realm mastered Sealing, they would directly feast on and slaughter humans in the human world. Because of this, many humans could see their loved ones being killed before their eyes, leading to hatred and, consequently, the desperate desire for power, which allowed them to form contracts with us. But now… due to the gradual prevalence of Sealing, so…”

“I see.”

With that explanation, Fang Zheng suddenly came to an understanding.

So that’s what it was all about.

As previously mentioned, Fire Mist Warriors initially appeared because some who were also parts of the Demon King of the Crimson Realm disapproved of their kin wreaking havoc on Earth. Yet they couldn’t consume the Power of Existence like their kind to manifest in this world. Hence, they chose to form contracts with humans of this world, “lending” their power to these humans, and with their help, driving their kin back to the Crimson Realm.

This approach was initially very effective because without the Sealing, many people could witness the deaths of their loved ones with their own eyes, and even they themselves wandered on the edge of life and death. Faced with such beings, the Demon King of the Crimson Realm only needed to show a willingness to provide power, and then they would accept the contract, becoming a Fire Mist Warrior.

But now… because of the advent of Sealing, the situation has changed.

The space isolated from causality, while in some ways can be considered a safeguard for human daily life, confines the battles between Fire Mist Warriors and Followers of the Crimson Realm to shadows unknown to the public. However, every benefit has its drawbacks, and the biggest issue with Sealing is — it reduces the number of potential Fire Mist Warriors.

In the past, recruiting Fire Mist Warriors was quite simple. Just find those who survived the predation of the Followers of the Crimson Realm for various reasons, and then tell them, “Young man, do you know who killed your family? Do you want revenge? Do you desire power?”

Those who were grief-stricken from losing everything would be willing to pay any price for vengeance.

But now… if you go up to someone and say, “Young man, do you know who killed your father?”

I’m afraid they might directly respond with, “What are you talking about? I don’t even have a father. If you keep spouting nonsense, I’ll call the police!”

Yes, Sealing cuts off causality, and those devoured disappear, their existence completely erased by the world’s corrective power. This results in fewer people becoming Fire Mist Warriors out of hatred, because many are completely unaware that their family has been devoured by a Follower of the Crimson Realm — or to put it another way, in their memories, these family members never existed from the start.

So a problem arises.

Fire Mist Warriors experience attrition in battle, but they hardly receive any reinforcements.

On the contrary, although the Followers of the Crimson Realm also suffer losses, there are no customs between the Crimson Realm and Earth. They can come and go as they please, and even if there are some restrictions, it’s definitely more convenient than for the Fire Mist Warriors.

Because becoming a Fire Mist Warrior requires Contractors to dedicate their past, present, and future entirely to the Demon God of the Crimson Realm. It means that all traces of you will be wiped from this world. Your life will be unknown to anyone, and your death unacknowledged. Those Fire Mist Warriors who fight for revenge might not care about this, but for ordinary people, it’s clearly impossible to accept abandoning everything to join a dangerously deadly battle.

This leads to the increasing scarcity of Fire Mist Warriors, while the number of Followers of the Crimson Realm continues to grow. Thus, to cultivate more Fire Mist Warriors, they had no choice but to make a different decision.

And the girl before him was the result of that.

It must be said that in Fang Zheng’s view, this was a failed choice.

From a certain perspective, the girl in front of him was indeed similar to a low-end version of Shana — they both had no direct enmity with the Followers of the Crimson Realm, and both became Fire Mist Warriors because of a mission. However, the difference between Shana and Nanoka was that Shana was destined from birth to be a Contractor of the Catastrophic Fire. Whereas Nanoka had to work hard on her own to earn the opportunity to sign a contract with the Demon King of the Crimson Realm.

If one were to make a comparison, it was as if Shana was born a princess, with fate decreeing she must ascend to the throne and become an empress, while Nanoka… had just passed the civil service exam, and had only just begun her official job… No one knows how far she could go in the future. Oh, and she botched her first job.

How interesting.

Looking at the girl before him, Fang Zheng suddenly became interested in her. The previous Fire Mist Warriors were each laden with deep grudges, and each of their stories was enough to write a tear-jerking mainstream novel. But Fang Zheng wasn’t interested in those maniacs. Instead, Nanoka, who was purely fighting as part of her duty, seemed somewhat amusing to Fang Zheng.

“Release her, Tilia.”

Thinking this, Fang Zheng quickly gave the command, and Tilia controlled the vines to loosen and dumped the girl onto the ground.

“Ow… Can I go now?”

Rubbing her sore bottom from the fall, Nanoka looked up at Fang Zheng with a pitiful expression and asked. She hadn’t anticipated that her first independent battle would bring her face-to-face with such a terrifying enemy — thankfully, the enemy hadn’t intended to harm her, but now, how was she to explain this to her teacher…

“No.” ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

But to Nanoka’s surprise, Fang Zheng shook his head.

“I don’t intend to let you go, hmm… I’ve just had a better idea.”

While speaking, Fang Zheng walked over to the girl with a pale face and watched her with a smile.

“From today on, you are our captive.”

Then he proclaimed.