The Record of Unusual Creatures

Panda Novel

Hessiana soon calmed down. She was a little embarrassed about the gaffe earlier and forgot to accuse Hao Ren of treating her like a child again.

“I’m fine.” She exhaled. “I just recalled some memories all of a sudden. The matter’s long past, but it left a big psychological impact on me.”

“So Battie is really unreliable,” said Lily. “She has a poor memory, and even if she doesn’t have a poor memory, she can’t support herself. How very unfortunate for you to have such a mother.”

Hessiana glared at her. “You can’t say anything bad about Lady Vivian!”

Lily stared back at her and yelled, “Do you know who I am? You weren’t even born when I fought with your mother. I’m your elder!”

Hessiana waved her hand to end the argument. She was too lazy to argue with a silly dog. Then, she turned to the little Hessiana. The little girl looked at the strange people in front of her curiously, but because they had been communicating with each other in Mandarin the entire time, she did not understand what they were quarreling about. Now the little girl seemed very confused and afraid. Hessiana looked at the little girl and smiled as she said, “Don’t be afraid, we are not fighting.”

Hao Ren, also with a smile on his face, bent down in front of little Hessiana and asked, “Can you tell us where your mother went?”

Before the little girl could speak, Hessiana interrupted, “You don’t have to ask her. I know where Lady Vivian’s gone to.”

“Where has she gone to?” Lily and Hao Ren asked in unison.

“Mount Olympus.” Hessiana smiled bitterly. “I knew it. How could anything related to Lady Vivian be settled so smoothly?”

Hasse was surprised and asked, “Mount Olympus is in chaos right now. What’s she doing there?”

Vivian was very strong during that period and even the demon hunters dared not provoke her, but no matter how strong she was, she was still merely a lone ranger. Facing Olympus, which was about to be completely engulfed by war, and challenging an entire holy legion by herself was still a risky venture. More importantly, Vivian had always been reluctant to fight. Even if she had some friendly relationship with several families, they were just hi-bye friends. She would not go out of her way to help either side in person when full-scale war broke out. After all, she did not even pay much attention to the vampire clan she belonged to.

She had always been alone and was used to being alone. It was because of her indifferent attitude that the demon hunters did not give her trouble. This old elder was not a threat to anyone… at least most of the time.

Hessiana sighed again. She knew why Hasse was so surprised. “It’s true that Lady Vivian would normally not be involved in the chaotic battle of gods, but there really are one or two friends on Mount Olympus who deserve her help. Hasse, don’t you wonder why several Greek gods still managed to escape after the army of demon hunters leveled Olympus and placed layers of blockade around the area?”

The old demon hunter became curious at once.

“She’s gone to save Hesperides and a few other friends,” Hessiana said. “It was only later that I linked things up. When she left, she just told me that she was going to save some people. Then many years later, I met her again. I also saw the Athens Sanctuary in its initial stage and Hesperides, who had become one of the sanctuary’s leaders. That was when I knew who she had saved.”

Obviously, the time she was referring to was 44 B.C.

At that time, Caesar had not been assassinated yet, and the Roman Republic was building up strength for its future as the Roman Empire. Meanwhile, the Nordic Valkyries were collecting heroes on the battlefield to prepare for the Twilight of the Gods as the Olympians ushered in their destruction. The Mythological Era was still present, but the sun was setting in the West. Right then, Vivian, a bystander who never intervened in disputes between otherworldlings, went in to save her friends. It was then that little Hessiana began her four-century wait in Rome and almost thought she had been abandoned.

“It seems that we have to go to Mount Olympus.” Hao Ren sighed. “By now, the demon hunters would have completely blocked the border. If we don’t want to go all the way in, we have to find ways to penetrate it. Hasse, it looks like we have to count on you.”

Even Hasse himself found the situation very difficult, but he did not flinch. “I still remember the route and the distribution of blockade lines on Mount Olympus. But to be honest, remembering the overall plan is certainly different from entering the defensive line in person. I can’t avoid encountering a small search team, and once we encounter a small search team, it’s likely that we’ll be surrounded by a large force.”

“That’s when your face comes in handy,” said Lily. “You’re one of the top commanders amongst the demon hunters on Mount Olympus at this time. What should we be afraid of if you cover us up?”

“That’s a really good idea.” Hao Ren nodded. “But we’ll have to consider some unconventional accidents like what happens when we meet another Hasse? Hasse, even if your memory’s good, you might not remember a location from 2,000 years ago exactly, right?”

Hasse’s expression suddenly grew strange.

Hao Ren looked at Lily again. “And for a supreme commander, who’s theoretically leading the attack on the throne of Zeus personally, to appear on the periphery all of a sudden… Don’t you think that’ll be a more eye-catching situation?”

Lily thought for a moment and stuck out her tongue. “You’re right.”

“That aside, infiltration is still the only option. After all, it’s impossible for us to break through the defenses of two holy legions all the way,” said Hessiana. “Let’s come up with a good plan. We should consider the topography of Mount Olympus, the distribution of the demon hunters, the place where Lady Vivian is most likely to be, and if we can’t wake Lady Vivian up on Mount Olympus, we have to find an evacuation route—all of this has to be planned in advance, and we need to be familiar with them.”

Hasse nodded. “Right.”

Little Hessiana was in a trance-like state again right then. “Are you going to find my mother?”

“Umm, yes,” Hao Ren answered, scratching his head. “But we have to plan before we leave.”

“Do you want to come to my house then?” Little Hessiana seemed happy. “I never thought I had another sister. I want to play with my sister!”

Hessiana smiled awkwardly and said, “Haha… Haha… Okay.”

“Come with me, then!” said little Hessiana cheerfully as she turned to lead the way.

The little girl looked really happy, probably because she suddenly found out that she had a “sister”, or maybe because they were Vivian’s friends.

While she led the way, little Hessiana kept talking about Vivian and her.

“Mama said I was the little bat she threw out…

“Mama knows a lot of important people. She also said that she kicked a great man named Caesar into the moat the other day because he wanted to make her a patron saint. Mama has been very busy recently. She said that the era of the gods is coming to an end, and she can’t accept the offer…”

“Where do we live? Farther on. Mama said, we have to live as far away from the others as possible because she’ll bring them bad luck. They’ll become poor or something… Anyway, I don’t understand.”

Hao Ren finally got a deeper understanding of Vivian in that era.

However, the adult Hessiana looked quite embarrassed. Everyone said that it was one of the most embarrassing things in the world to show people what one had done when one was a child. And today, she had achieved the ultimate in that respect. “How could I have been so unsuspecting? Why did I talk so much back then…”

“It sounds like you talk a lot lesser once you grow up,” Hao Ren teased.

“Shut up.”

In front of them, little Hessiana could not stop talking. “Mama’s so kind to me! She can make all kinds of delicious things… This twig? Mama gave it to me. She said it was a twig broken off from Yggdrasil. It’s been several years, and it hasn’t withered…”