SFS Chapter 34: England Chapter [Two People's Desires]
Chapter 34: England Chapter [Two People's Desires]
"Ahhh! Asmodeus!"
Ming, who had been lying on the lawn with his eyes closed and unconscious, suddenly opened his eyes and shouted angrily, his hand involuntarily reaching out as if trying to squeeze something tightly.
"What...thing?" Ming squeezed it a few more times. "It's soft...ah!" Realizing something was wrong, Ming quickly opened his eyes in fright. Two white buns, tightly wrapped in buttons, were pressed firmly against his hands.
Raise it up a little higher and you'll see Möbius, his emerald green eyes and the scalpel so close to his left eye.
"Ah! What is that!" Ming, who had just woken up, exclaimed in surprise, then stared at Möbius's scalpel.
"Uh! Klein woke up so quickly? Ah~ what a pity, why don't you take another nap?" Möbius said casually, because he was too focused to pay attention to Ming's actions of kneading the bun.
Ming, who had just opened his eyes, pushed Möbius away in fright, then immediately pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and began wiping his hands. As he wiped them, he muttered to himself:
"My hands are dirty! Oh no, oh no! Oh no! Sha and I are dirty..." Ming kept muttering, as if what he had just touched was some kind of dangerous virus.
Seeing this, Möbius, who had just been forcefully pushed away, chuckled and found Ming amusing. She casually tossed aside the scalpel, leaned close to Ming's ear as he wiped his hands, and whispered:
"What are you talking about? What do you mean by unclean?"
Upon hearing Möbius's voice, Ming trembled. He turned his head and looked at her with a look of fear.
Just then, Ming subconsciously manifested the [Black Flame Demon] and swung his cane, unleashing a burst of intense black flames that forced Möbius back a few steps.
"Oh dear~ Don't be so angry as soon as you wake up, my dear Klein."
Hearing Möbius's attempt to ingratiate himself, Ming snorted coldly and sheathed his weapon. "I can't talk calmly to someone who's cut me in half multiple times!" His eyes were filled with wariness and disgust. "And if I'm not mistaken, you were just trying to cut off my left eye, weren't you?"
Seeing Ming's hostile expression, Möbius's expression changed rapidly. He immediately pretended to be very aggrieved, covered his face, and said:
"Waaaaah~ Klein, I'm the one who's been wronged! Think about it, I knew you could cut me a few times without any problem, right? And you, you were holding that long razor, trying to split me in two from top to bottom. I'm the one who's been wronged!" Möbius said, forcing a few tears from his eyes.
Seeing this, Ming withdrew his weapon, but his tone remained cold and forceful as he asked, "Tell me quickly, where is this place? And what was that experiment just now? I can actually convert magic power and use that strange spell. What's going on?"
Möbius wiped away non-existent tears, straightened up, and said, "This is White Shore Reef, a famous tourist attraction in England. After that experiment, you fainted. After I carried you there, I found that you hadn't shown any signs of returning for a long time. And since I had to go to work at DEM, I simply asked the board for leave and booked White Shore Reef for you to wake up."
"As for the spell you mentioned...?" Upon hearing those two words, Möbius's expression brightened, his eyes sparkling, and he began rapidly circling around Ming.
"What?! My experiment succeeded! I thought it only worked for the moment I absorbed spiritual energy after entering your body! Ah! Fantastic! The spell! The spell was perfectly reproduced! Hahahaha... cough cough!"
Before Ming could react, Möbius had him sit down and explained things to him while looking at the bright stars in the night.
“.....................” After Möbius’s explanation~
"To put it simply, after failing to find anything particularly useful from you, when I was reviewing your spiritual energy data during DEM on Wednesday, I discovered it was very similar to the mystery we lost during the Eurasian space catastrophe five years ago. So I decided to provoke you to bring your spiritual energy to a high point and try to ingest a weapon inscribed with a spell into your body, just to see what would happen..."
At this point, Möbius paused, his expression turning somewhat awkward. He then pulled an AI-generated image from his pocket, handed it to Minghou, and continued:
“But… unfortunately, you’re alright. Let me tell your dear doctor that once your spiritual power amplifies to a certain high level, your biological form will transform into a semi-energy body.” Möbius said, gesturing for Ming to open the AI-generated image.
Ming opened the photo as she instructed and saw himself wearing [Spirit Attire], half of his body tainted by black flames, transformed into a goat-headed demon. The surrounding air was distorted by the intense heat.
"There's nothing I can do. Your destructive power was too great. The miniature surveillance cameras in the lab were instantly dissolved. This was manually drawn using AI from DEM, and this is the best we can do. Although my intuition as a scientist tells me that studying you back then would be the best option, my biological instinct tells me that if I dared to, I would instantly turn into charcoal."
At this moment, Möbius's face was full of helplessness. According to Ming's understanding of her, if she could, she would have done it long ago, but she didn't. Even a guy like Möbius, who had no bottom line, began to feel afraid.
Ming carefully examined the photograph, his fingers gently tracing his reflection in the image. A hint of confusion and unease flickered in his eyes.
"Is this my power..." Ming murmured to himself, "A half-energy body, and this bizarre ram-headed demon form..."
He recalled a training session he had experienced before, and the uncontrollable, powerful spiritual energy within him. This power both terrified and fascinated him.
Ming decided to delve deeper into his abilities. He wanted to fully control this immense power, hoping that this might be the only way to protect his beloved who was no longer with him. As he thought this, Ming's expression became gloomy.
Just as Ming was feeling down, Mobius immediately interrupted, "Klein, would you like some tiramisu?" As he spoke, Mobius placed a cake box in front of Ming. "I bought this when I came here. I heard that it's quite popular to give this as a gift in Japan. I just happened to buy some, so consider it a small compensation."
Ming hesitated for a moment before taking it. He looked at the tiramisu in front of him, said nothing, and simply took the tiramisu expressionlessly, put it in his pocket, and did not start eating.
Ming looked at the night sky and the stars, as well as the calm sea, and turned to look at Möbius with some curiosity.
"Why are you so interested in me?" Ming asked casually.
Möbius smiled, leaned closer to Ming, and said mysteriously, "Because I sense a familiar feeling about you." Her gaze fell on the tiramisu in Ming's hand, "Just like this dessert, it seems sweet, but it actually hides a secret that no one knows."
“Ever since our second meeting at Little Elephant’s, I’ve sensed a ‘desire’ in your seemingly empty yet intriguing eyes that is remarkably similar to mine.” Möbius’s lips curled slightly, his eyes narrowed as he looked at Ming, who was listening with a slight chill.
“What…desire…” Ming’s brows began to furrow, as if some unpleasant past was about to be unearthed.
"That feeling is like trying your best to take back something, even if it means giving up things that are not important or even abandoning yourself. Being able to use all kinds of means without any scruples just to achieve that moment of desire is simply the kind of accomplice I admire!" At this point, Möbius stood up, spread his arms, and his eyes were filled with madness.
“Back then, I thought we had a lot in common, but you were firmly bound by a shackle called ‘morality.’ That disappointed me, but because of that, I deduced your identity from satellite surveillance. Ah~ [Flame Beast]~ You really are like a wild beast, terrifying and chilling~” She pressed her hands to her face, as if she wanted to say more.
"What exactly are you trying to say? If you need someone like me, those monsters at DEM aren't much worse than me, are they?" Ming's voice turned low. He hated being compared to a doctor who could operate on others without hesitation.
"Oh dear~ it seems I must speak with Klein. Tell her about my desires; perhaps we can reach some agreement."
Möbius raised his hand, holding a string of display devices, and with a gentle wave, a soundproof, casual domain enveloped the two of them.
“Klein, have you heard of the Magic Village?” Möbius asked.
Upon hearing the question, Ming hesitated for a moment, then pretended not to know and shook his head.
"Alright, you've been in Japan the whole time, how would you know... Let's continue."
"My ancestors came from a magician's village. At that time, mystery had not yet faded, and magic and spells were at the peak of this world. My ancestors created a spell that was only one step away from eternity, [Infinite Stillness]. It can stop all the cells in the human body from aging and freeze them in that moment forever. How magnificent and powerful it was."
"However, due to the changing times, the mystical arts gradually declined, and this technique was almost lost. After we left the magician's village to establish our family, we lost this 'specialness'." Möbius sighed, a hint of helplessness in his eyes. "Now, the mystical arts have declined to the point that even simple 'magical artifacts' inscribed with magic cannot be created. Moreover, after the Eurasian Great Sky ended five years ago, all techniques have reached a point where they are no longer usable. I can only endlessly recreate the magic that ended the get out of class, hoping to see that moment of eternity again."
Upon hearing this, Ming casually interrupted Möbius's recollection and asked, "So, Doctor, how old are you now?"
"67 years old, what's wrong?" Möbius replied after a slight pause.
"You look like you're only in your early twenties, right? Haven't you already achieved your goal?"
"No, Klein, this kind of eternity is too unreal for me. It's just using half a pure-blooded mage's magic power to temporarily slow down aging and using the [Manifestation Device] to fix the appearance. It will still age as it is meant to, and it can't achieve immortality at all!"
“Moreover, this is only a temporary measure.” Möbius shook his head slightly. “Using a display device to fix my appearance will eventually make me as old as an ordinary old man. That’s why I’m so determined to restore my former glory and find true eternity.”
Ming nodded thoughtfully, indicating that he understood Möbius's desire, since all things want to avoid extinction, but Ming would not agree with her using other people's lives for research.
"So, Doctor, what are your plans next?"
Mobius said with a determined look in his eyes, "I will continue to study magic and look for a way to break through. Perhaps in some ancient scroll or ruin, I can find clues about [Infinite Stillness]... and complete this spell. I need your help, Klein... I need to figure out the principles of the spiritual power and structure within you."
After saying that, Möbius took out a tube of fixed black flame energy from his sleeve and placed it in front of Ming. "Look, this is the [Flame of Regeneration] that I cut off from you back then using my high-end Free Domain. If you cooperate a few more times, perhaps I can figure out how to create black flames, and even achieve the revival of magic!"
"I, Möbius, hereby swear in the name of one of the few remaining pure-blooded magicians in the world that I will entrust all my experimental results and combat skills to you during this period. In return, please cooperate with my research and serve as my assistant. After I have completely aged, go and watch over and witness the revival of magic with the ageless body of an [elf]!" Möbius said, looking at Ming with a face full of expectation.
Ming looked at the black flames of energy before him, and a complex emotion welled up in his heart.
He knew that Möbius's research was extremely dangerous, but he also understood her determination and her desire for the revival of magic.
Ming took a deep breath and agreed to Möbius's request.
“Alright, I will assist you with your research again. However, you must promise not to harm anyone. Our goal is to find true eternity, not to achieve it by sacrificing others.”
Mobius smiled and nodded. She knew how similar Ming was to her. Although their goals were different at the moment, she would entrust the mission to the boy in front of her and believed that he would become the key to the revival of magic.
"Let's go then. My car is nearby. Would you like to go for a drive with me, Doctor?" Möbius extended her hand and sincerely invited Ming. Although Ming did not take her hand, he still followed her.
Ming followed Möbius to the car, and after getting in, Möbius stepped on the gas.
On the way, Ming asked his last question out of curiosity:
"Speaking of which, Doctor, why do you call me Klein? It feels weird being called that by you and the other members every day."
“Haha~ Actually, this is just a little personal hobby of mine.” Möbius replied with a smile, “I think the name ‘Klein’ suits you very well, so I’ve always called you that.”
"Anyway, this is the name you've written on your application form. In a sense, this name also prevents you from being traced and caught."
"Oh." Ming nodded noncommittally, and then went for a drive with the venomous snake in front of him.