The Record of Unusual Creatures
chapter-1024

Chapter 1024: The Guardian’s Head

Vivian was a little wary of Claude’s invitation.

She had more than 10,000 years of experience on Earth and had seen all kinds of storms on various planets. She was not a coward. She just found this Claude very weird and suspicious.

For a young demon hunter, even if he were gifted in magic and combat skills, he would lack the necessary experience and wisdom of life. Such a young man must lack both. But this Claude clearly doesn’t fit all of these characteristics and he also admitted that there was ‘something else’ in his soul. In this case, Vivian must be cautious. “Before I go with you, who are you? Claude? Or something else? If you’re some old guy you can tell me honestly. I don’t think there’s anything older than me on this planet. Maybe we are old acquaintances.”

“I’m certainly Claude,” the young demon hunter said and smiled. “But I also accepted an extra portion of the inheritance, which coexisted with Claude’s soul. It allowed me to know the secrets of the past and to invite you, here and now. Follow me, please. I’m going to take you to meet the owner of that inheritance.”

“We’ll tag along?” Hao Ren pointed to himself and Lily.

“All of you.” The young demon hunter just nodded and glanced at White Flame and Teuton. “Everyone who is here right now and right in front of me should be invited. This is an order handed down six thousand years ago.”

A chill went down Hao Ren’s spine. A guy who died thousands of years ago left a prediction of what would happen on a given day was the last thing he could accept because fate and prophecy was the worst thing in his mind, let alone be a part of such prophecy. But Claude had come to this point, and he must not miss the opportunity, so he nodded and said, “Well, we’ll go with you.”

So the mysterious ‘young’ demon hunter led them out of the ritual hall and down a secret passage to the deeper part behind it. On the way, Hao Ren moved close to White Flame and asked, “Seriously though, what was Claude like before?”

“Told you, I don’t really know him.” White Flame frowned. “He was a silent introvert before he joined the Council of Elders. After joining the council, he followed the rules and regulations and lived a life basically as reclusive as the sages. According to the rules, the servants of the sages were not allowed to marry, to buy property, to leave the north, or even to leave the Netherrealm Clock Tower unless necessary. How do I know a mysterious guy like this?”

White Flame and Hao Ren did not lower their voices, so Claude heard it clearly. He did not mind and explained patiently, “Every servant of the sage was appointed via ritual. The old servant resigned at the ritual, and the new one accepted the blessing at the ritual. Some of the old memories were passed on to the new servant through the ritual. Demon hunters have a long history. We are the oldest race on the planet and therefore, some secrets must be passed on in a safe way.”

“I see,” Hao Ren said perfunctorily. Then, they stopped in front of a secret room.

Claude stood at the door of the secret room and activated the heavy, ancient door, which then slid upward silently. “Please go in. An old man has something to say to you.”

Hao Ren and Vivian looked at each other and then walked into the secret room together.

And then they were startled by the scene in front of them.

There was no furniture in the round room, only a large, altar-like object in the middle. On the altar stood a huge head of two meters tall. The head was old and shrunken, with white hair and wrinkles, and the dark red face looked dignified.

Just one head.

Lilly was also startled when she entered the room. She then boldly went to examine the head, wanted to see if the neck and body were hidden in the altar. But just as she was about to come forward, the eyes on the head opened slowly.

The eyes looked a little cloudy but still filled with wisdom. The eyes took a glance at them, and then they heard a voice sounded directly in their heads. “You’re here. It looks like this disaster has been solved by you.”

Hao Ren stared at the head for a while and then suddenly realized what it was: a guardian giant!

A faithful guardian of the goddess of creation. Just like Muru and Lemendusa, it was a guardian giant – but there was only a head there.

They apparently recognized the race of the head, but they were aware that the situation was unclear, so no one mentioned the goddess of creation and the First Born, including Lily.

Vivian looked cautiously at the giant’s head, unsure whether the guardian’s memory, like any other otherworldlings, was impacted as he crossed the Wall of Reality. “You are?”

“You have lost your memory again, old friend,” said the giant’s head with a friendly smile. “Well, there were a lot of new faces, let me introduce myself. You can call me Mimir.”

“Giant Mimir?” Lilly exclaimed in surprise. “The giant of wisdom in Norse mythology who guarded the Well of Wisdom, who was ended up beheaded by the Vanir?”

Hao Ren could not stop Lily from talking crap, but the giant’s head did not look angry. It just smiled and said, “It was an accident. Clumsy Honir shouldn’t touch the machine. Vanaheim’s solar prism melted my body. It’s a pity loss, but my head is alive and well, and…”

The giant’s head said humorously. At the same time, many runes suddenly lit up on the ground near the altar. Under the radiance of runes, various appliances came out from every corner of the room, floating lively in the air.

“I can still take care of myself.”

Hao Ren stared at the giant’s head in astonishment and asked, “So… The giant in Norse Mythology is actually a guard… something like you?”

As soon as he posed this question, he felt something was wrong and then it hit him. What a powerful creature the guardian giant was; these demigods had the power to crush the mortal species, even without their superior technology. It would be understandable if only one guardian giant were left alone among the ancient ‘gods’. They were not as strong as the First Born without the support equipment and would be defeated if they were attacked by a large number of mortal species. But if the giants in the Norse mythology were all these guardians…

They would have pacified the mythological era, and there would not be any war between the demon hunters and the gods.

“It seems that these stories have been misinformed as I expected. There is only one giant of wisdom, and that is Mimir. The other giants are different from me,” Mimir smiled and said.

Vivian had been looking very serious since the beginning. She was trying to deal with her confused memory, but she could not think of anything related to Mimir. In other words, she remembered meeting a ‘giant of wisdom’ that belonged to the Norse mythology but had no recollection of the giant’s looks, life history or befriending him. She patted her head and said, “Too bad I can’t remember you at all. You were caught here by a demon hunter?”

Although Mimir’s true identity was a demigod guardian created by the goddess of creation, he was a member of the Norse mythology in the mythological system on Earth, and the demon hunters ended the Norse mythology – so the only explanation for his head appearing in the Netherrealm Clock Tower was that he was captured here.

“At first, yes,” replied Mimir slowly, “but then I voluntarily stayed. They need my wisdom, my knowledge, and advice, and I need a safe place to live. So I can’t leave, especially after learning about their history, the reason they carried out the hunting, and the many secrets they kept. These brash little creatures touched things they shouldn’t. I don’t have the power to break the curse, but at least I can slow it down and wait until you, my friend, come here and solve the rest of the problem. It looks like my wait is worth it after all, though it seems that the process is not the way I thought it would be.”