"Long time no see."
Li Fan said, unloading the long object he was carrying on his shoulder.
"I thought you'd be on the new continent. I didn't expect you back so soon. Is it because of the Safi'jiiva?"
Sophia sighed.
"It's partly related... I've come to you to look for information about the Fatalis."
"Asking the Dragon Church for Fatalis information, that's the only way you'd think of. Fine, why should I give it to you?"
Sophia said, standing up.
"We're friends, after all."
"The church's top secret, just because we're friends, you'd spill it so casually?"
"Well, then let's trade."
Li Fan said, pointing to the large, strip-like object on the carpet.
"Don't bother, there's no material... What's wrapped around the surface is the shed skin of some monster?"
Sophia glanced at it out of politeness, but the strip-like skin with burn marks quickly caught her attention.
"Yes, it's everywhere in a valley. I found that it insulates against elemental damage and keeps the material from being damaged, so I wrapped it around the surface."
Li Fan said, unsealing the wrapped strip-like skin.
Sophia certainly wouldn't agree to a trade.
After all, Fatalis information was the highest secret for the Dragon Church.
However, she was very interested in finding out what the wrapped material was, so she walked over to observe.
As the strip-like skin was gradually removed, a black horn made of inverted scales was revealed.
After observing for a moment, Sophia quickly crouched down to examine it.
*Crackle~* As her finger lightly touched it, a red and black electric current suddenly surged.
"Be careful, the dragon element remaining on it hasn't dissipated yet."
Li Fan warned.
Sophia didn't respond, and the hall fell into silence.
*Hiss~*
The flame of the candlestick flickered, and Sophia, who seemed frozen, blinked her eyes.
"Sky-Piercing Horn... What are you kidding me? Possessing such a material will incur its vengeance."
"It's fine, it's already dead."
Li Fan informed her, and another period of silent stillness followed.
"A clumsy trick, to use such a ploy on me to get information."
Sophia said, standing up with displeasure.
"I'm not lying, it's really dead."
Li Fan said, putting down his backpack and taking out a glass-like spherical jade stone.
"If even you can't identify this jade, then I don't think anyone else can."
"Uh... give me some time, I need to think..."
Sophia saw the glass-like Dragon God Jade in Li Fan's hands and staggered backward.
"No rush, I have plenty of time."
Li Fan pulled over a chair and sat down.
After pulling out several books from the bookshelf, an entire section of the bookshelf next to it slid into the wall, revealing an entrance to a secret room.
Sophia, walking into the secret room with her hand on her forehead, began searching through recent star-gazing records.
After pulling out a banner scroll and examining it closely, she let her hands drop and murmured, "No wonder that dark star suddenly perished..."
After a moment of thought, her gaze fell upon a black book placed alone on a stone pedestal.
The book wasn't very thick, but the purple eye decoration on its cover was particularly eye-catching.
After washing her face in the mirror and readjusting her glasses, Sophia walked out of the secret room holding the book.
"The new continent has a monster that can rival it?"
Sophia inquired.
"Yes, you didn't know?"
"If even the Hunter's Guild hasn't obtained this information, how could I possibly know?"
Sophia said helplessly.
"Even if they obtained it, they wouldn't just publicize it... Oh! I get it, I get it."
"There are spies from the Guild within the church too, it's no big deal."
"So... can these two items be exchanged?"
Li Fan returned to the main topic.
"Yes, but not because of their value. It's because once the death of the Safi'jiiva is confirmed, the Dragon Church will completely collapse."
Sophia stated frankly.
Li Fan understood her meaning.
The Dragon Church's ability to recruit followers wasn't based on how many people truly worshipped the taboo and saw it as their faith.
Instead, it was through the form of worship that they expressed their submission to the taboo.
Hoping to be spared when the cataclysmic disaster struck.
If one day someone told you that the taboo was dead, killed by a hunter.
Then, apart from a small number of fanatical believers, the Dragon Church's target audience would completely disappear.
"Wait a minute, the followers have such strong opinions about me, could it be..."
"That's right. With your achievements, you are already the number one hypothetical enemy confronting the taboo within the church."
Sophia confirmed.
Clearly, whoever was likely to provoke the taboo was the Dragon Church's greatest enemy.
"Those brave hunters who dared to challenge the taboo back then, they must have felt terrible when they thought about the hostility they faced."
Li Fan mused.
"The Guild is also an accomplice, just not as cowardly as the Dragon Church."
Sophia's tone was cold.
"Alright... can you reveal the Fatalis information now?"
Li Fan asked.
"Of course."
Sophia said, opening the scale-like cover of the black book.
"Many years ago, when the Guild's management was more lax, Shara Ishvalda City was not a completely forbidden area. Many people, seeking fortune, would sneak into the city ruins to collect materials left behind by the Fatalis. Even more exaggerated, some even attempted to craft equipment. Of course, the wearers invariably went mad and died. But thanks to the materials they brought back, research on the Fatalis became possible. The first characteristic was quickly confirmed: the Fatalis cannot be killed."
"Huh? Is that a real characteristic?"
Li Fan couldn't understand what it meant to be unkillable.
"The scales these people brought back from Shara Ishvalda City, judging by their shapes, were not just naturally shed, but also artificially broken by blades. When restored to the body surface, many scales were on vital areas. These are traces that only appear when hunters slay monsters."
Sophia flipped through the pages and continued, "The exposure of vital areas under the protection of carapace and scales, what does that mean for a monster, you should know better than I do. Yet, among the few clear-headed witnesses, no one saw the Fatalis in a wounded state. As more samples were collected, researchers discovered a large number of duplicate parts. Many scales, in terms of location, size, pattern, and thickness, were identical. This is incomprehensible for a taboo creature with an eternal lifespan."
"Even newly formed scales would wear down over time. Given the lifespan of a taboo creature, it's indeed impossible to have two identical detached scales."
Li Fan felt that even if it shed its skin once a day, it would be almost impossible to find two completely identical scales among them, let alone pick up discarded ones.
"So, the researchers at the time deduced that hunters had once severely wounded the Fatalis, and not just once. But for some unknown reason, the Fatalis's death was averted each time, leading to the conclusion that it possessed the characteristic of being unkillable."
Numerous identical vital scales, unkillable...
The only ability Li Fan could think of was time reversal.
"The second important piece of information was proposed by a scholar. Taboo creatures possess terrifying combat power, but for our world, such combat power is completely unnecessary... Of course, based on the information you provided about the Safi'jiiva's death, this might be overturned. However, I personally believe that the individual power of taboo creatures far exceeds ecological needs, to the point where no one knows its limits."
"So... the Fatalis has the potential to suppress its own combat power."
Li Fan felt this was like using a 4090 to play League of Legends and the graphics card fan not spinning.
"Exactly, and this power doesn't require any ecological support. This makes the Fatalis's very existence, and its code of conduct, a mystery."
The research system of scholars in the Monster Hunter world is based on ecology.
The taboo seems to have detached itself from the ecosystem, which makes even the Fatalis's own existence an unsolvable problem.
"Wait, how did that hunter severely wound it?"
Li Fan found this point hard to reconcile.
"Well... as a hunter who slew the Safi'jiiva, if you don't know, how could I possibly know?"
Sophia sighed helplessly.
"Right, continue."
"Based on the compiled information, researchers speculated that the Fatalis might possess abilities related to time, but they had no leads on how it was used. After this, related research was halted, Shara Ishvalda City was completely sealed by the Guild, and all Fatalis materials were destroyed. This is all the information regarding the Fatalis."
Sophia said, then closed the black book.
Li Fan pondered for a moment, then stood up from his chair.
"Thank you, I should be going."
"Wait, that frog plushie keychain, are you still using it?"
Sophia inquired.
"Of course."
"Hmm... Goodbye, hunter."
Li Fan turned and left.
Seeing his figure disappear from the top of the stairs, Sophia smiled genuinely, stood up, waved her green robe, and twirled.
"It really is still in use..."
"Do you still want these shed skins you used for wrapping? If not, I'll take them."
Hearing Li Fan's voice again, Sophia turned back in surprise.
"I don't want them, you can take them."
"Great, wrapping materials with this is really useful."
Li Fan said happily, picking up the ball of strips.
After being respectfully escorted out of the Dragon Church headquarters by the followers, Li Fan packed the strips and slung them over his shoulder.
After recording the Fatalis information, a problem arose: he had nowhere to go.
Dongduoluma seemed bustling at night, but there was nowhere Li Fan wanted to go.
Staying at the Guild might be a good option, but the thought of having to entertain a large number of people as soon as he entered the main gate made him feel troublesome.
As he walked down the street, Li Fan arrived at the square with the fountain.
The weather wasn't cold, and spending the night on a bench seemed like a good idea.
With that thought, Li Fan placed the white shed skin on the bench and lay down.
Looking at the deep night sky where meteors kept streaking by, a sense of confusion welled up in his heart.
"It has the power to control time... Could the disappearance of those hunters before be related to this?"
Li Fan hadn't considered trying to stay away, but if the Fatalis really targeted him, it didn't seem like simple avoidance would be successful.
This could be seen from the warning that popped up when inheriting save data on his PSP.
As he was thinking, the sky suddenly darkened.
Li Fan noticed that the silver-white full moon was being encroached upon by a black crescent.
When the blackness had consumed half of it, the shadow cast by the half-black, half-white moon divided the fountain square exactly in two.
】
Li Fan, now in the shadow, picked up the white shed skin bundle and moved to another bench bathed in moonlight, then lay down.
*Jingle~ Jingle~*
A young girl in a white dress with bells tied to her ankles emerged from the shadow.
"Brother Yellow Robe hasn't come to work in a long time. Do you know where he went?"
The girl inquired in a clear voice.
Li Fan gripped the armrest of the bench, straightened his back, and looked around to see no one else present, then replied, "I don't know, I just got back too."
The girl walked to the boundary between shadow and moonlight and softly asked, "Did you kill him?"
Li Fan, who had already sensed something was amiss, stood up.
"Who are you?"
"He hasn't participated in the council for so long, it seems he's truly dead. But it's good that you can participate."
The girl let out a light sigh.
"If the Brother Yellow Robe you're referring to is that propagandist from the Dragon Church, I can tell you clearly that I didn't kill him. Also, I'm not here to participate in the council, I just want to rest."
Li Fan offered a tentative explanation.
"Don't be nervous. Now there's only you and me left in the council. What are you going to do next, kill Brother Red Robe who didn't show up for the council?"
The girl put her hands behind her back and tilted her head to look at the sky, giving a somewhat mischievous impression.
"I, Li Fan, have never killed anyone. Don't try to fool me."
"Alright, since you've become a member of the council, I no longer have the right to command you. This time, I just want to persuade you not to make a move on Brother Red Robe. If Brother Red Robe comes to the council, I'll persuade him too. Wouldn't it be good for the world to continue in balance?"
The girl persuaded.
"It's you after all... Firstly, I have no intention of joining any council, nor am I a member. Secondly, whether or not I make a move on Brother Red Robe is not up to me."
Li Fan informed her.
"Sigh~ It seems that when humans become stubborn, they're not much better than monsters."
The girl let out a helpless sigh.
"I'm just protecting what I believe is worth protecting, not being stubborn."
Li Fan retorted.
"Unfortunately, you won't be his match. Even if you use power from outside this world, you still won't be able to defeat him."
"Wait, you know about our conflict?"
Li Fan had clearly not revealed his plan to anyone, and he hadn't even figured out why the Fatalis was targeting him. Yet, the girl before him seemed convinced that this war was inevitable.
"The story of hunters and dragons has been written countless times, it's not complicated."
The girl said with a faint smile, and the shadow covering her receded as the black moon retreated.
"Goodbye, we'll talk again at the next taboo council... I hope there will be a next time."
The girl, retreating with the shadow, waved goodbye and turned to run away.
"Wait..."
....
"Don't wait, we're starting work soon. Take this stack of flyers."
Amidst the urging, Li Fan woke up on the bench. It was already early morning.
"What do you mean..."
Li Fan looked at the middle-aged man handing him flyers, completely bewildered.
"Aren't you a new propagandist here to distribute flyers?"
"No, I'm not."
"Sorry... you're dressed so strangely, I thought you were a propagandist."