Stray

    An is the one who reacted the most to the part of the truth that finally surfaced. The female warrior scolded a rather unpleasant **** and bit her back molars.

    As one of the tragic protagonists, Medeth's recollections look like a fragile life of rotten flesh - Oliver is struggling to breathe. A slightly sad daze rose from the soles of his feet and slowly swallowed his body like a cold swamp.

    “…I try my best,” Oliver said, clenching Nemo’s. "Mr. Medes, I need some time to calm down. Ann, you can tell Mr. Medes about Delia first. I'll be back later."

    The female warrior turned her sad and grateful eyes.

    "You're going to continue," she said softly.

    "I have no idea of ​​giving up the mission." Oliver said softly, "Mr. Medes has become like this, I think he has paid enough. Death, even if I rush into the royal cemetery to dig him out, it won't change anything... I just need time to digest it."

    How simple they once lived, Oliver thought numbly.

    If the church of the abyss hadn't summoned the deadwood jellyfish in Waymark, I and Nemo might have continued their civilian lives in Waymark - the biggest annoyance would be the demanding customers and A shriveled purse. They may even sigh over the bad weather, buy more bread and vegetables after work, and end a peaceful and mundane day in a familiar room.

    Until death.

    Yes, being the son of an ordinary librarian and an innkeeper, just such a pure life.

    But now Oliver has never been so clear about how much blood and darkness hides under that trivial and insignificant life.

    Unlike Wither Castle, this time I was not dragged into hell, but lived in a carefully constructed gentle dream since I was born.

    He never thought that his father could show such a desperate expression.

    "Do you want to stop here?" Gently pulled Nemo out of the room, and the two leaned against the dark tomb passage. Oliver asked quietly. "Uh, I mean the exploration of the past... do you want to stop, Nemo?"

    "Maybe that sounds a lot like self-defense," Nemo stared at the dim flames leaping from the lampstand in the hallway, his voice so low that he couldn't hear it. "I... I did destroy the Tin Soldier. I have all these memories from meeting your father to the death of Ulysses. But Oliver, I still don't understand why your father..."

    "I know," Oliver said softly, tapping his fingertips on the other's back soothingly. "I know you won't lie to me."

    Nimo buried his face in one palm and let out a long breath.

    He pulls a gentle lover who trusts him wholeheartedly and has the power to destroy the world. If he just looked at these, he shouldn't have any troubles.

    Nimo can faintly feel that everything is still sliding into the darkness uncontrollably.

    He understood exactly what Oliver meant by that question.

    After a long absence, the concept of "escape" crossed his mind again - everyone in Tumbleweed moved separately. Apart from appearing when doing necessary tasks, he and Oliver usually find a small place to hide. Budgeting for a coin loaf, hesitating for a few days about buying a new book.

    God knows how much he wants to make such a proposal.

    But he can't.

    Facts already known become memories. And the memory will only fade, dormant in the dark, will not disappear completely.

    Nimo knew that if he nodded at this time, Oliver would not continue to pursue the secrets at the bottom of the abyss.

    But it will turn into a poisonous thorn, stuck in a corner of your lover's heart. Oliver would not say it, but the doubts in his heart could not be erased. Perhaps one day, he will take this unanswered question to the grave—

    From now on, it will drag his soul like an invisible shackle. It's getting heavier and heavier and can never be freed.

    Nimo knew that, because the question was already tormenting himself like this. Oliver does promise to kill himself if things change. Under this premise, escaping might make his own future easier, but for Oliver...

    "I don't want to stop." Nemo heard himself say word by word, a little despair in his voice. "I want to know the truth, and I want you to know the truth."

    Even if that means the end of their relationship.

    No one knew how much pus and blood would flow from this ancient wound, but at least he knew that, even if it looked fine, it would never heal.

    "Okay." Oliver sighed. "We continue to investigate. If there is no other choice...it seems likely that we will be going against Mr Medes' last advice."

    Nimo didn't say anything, Oliver's breathing still wasn't steady. So he reached out and touched each other's cheeks. Oliver, as always, did not have any subconscious rejection.

    His light.

    Nimo drew him closer and kissed him tenderly. Oliver tasted a little cold now, but that temperature meant "he's still around" and it reassured him. Soon, the kiss turned into a sad, intense bite. After a few minutes, Oliver's breathing was more rapid - but it was no longer drowning, which was probably a good thing.

    "Let's go back." Oliver breathed hard, "Thinking about it, now we just need to find another answer."

    Nimo nodded, pointing to the gold pendant that brushed under the fabric of his chest, intentionally or unintentionally.

    "We have a conclusion." Seeing the two finally return to the room, Medes didn't ask any further questions. "Miss Savage has said all she has to say. Whether it's the little girl's situation or yours."

    "Hmm." In order to keep his mind calm, Oliver didn't plan to look directly at Medes for the time being.

    "I only have one question now, Oliver." Medes' tone became focused, "Are you sure you were in some sort of contractual relationship with Mr. Wright when the Wither Castle was pierced through your heart? "

    "Yes."

    "Um...how long did it take you from being injured to waking up?"

    "It's not a good place to keep track of time, but at least one night."

    Meds thought for a moment, then he picked up the empty ink bottle, walked to the stone jar by the wall, and poured a little dark liquid from it. As the lid was opened, the strong **** smell broke through the pickled and strange smells and hit the nose.

    "What's in there?" Nemo couldn't help but ask, "I feel a little breath of life."

    "My blood, guts and skin, they're still there. I just peeled them off." Medes responded calmly, "No one can rely on a bone 'Alive'."

    "But those in the hallway..." Nemo's scalp tingled.

    "That's all pre-set spells, after all, here alone...it's too quiet." Medes waved his arms and made a gesture, and the lighting skulls floating in the room brushed together The brushes are gathered in front of the stone table, neatly arranged in a straight line.

    The vicinity of the stone table suddenly became very bright.

    Meds put away the ink bottle full of blood, picked up the feather, and nodded to everyone. "It's too messy to demonstrate in the air, it's faster to talk on paper."

    Except for Jesse who was carrying the grey parrot, the other four got together.

    "You were too young when you got sick. Considering your physique, Flint exhausted all his strength and suppressed the curse in your heart."

    Meders quickly drew the outline of the heart, then circled a blood-red circle around it.

    "During the years of your existence, your father's power has been sealing the curse and forcibly keeping your heart beating. Flint likes to use fire magic, you subconsciously like ice, very It may be that the subconscious wants to maintain the balance of power in the body. But your father's power has always been stronger than you, if I guess correctly, you used to be afraid of the cold, right?"

    Medith drew a small red circle next to the red circle.

    "Yes," Oliver admitted.

    "Mr. Wright is a superior demon, and if I'm not mistaken, he should be considered a strong superior demon. At least his power is much stronger than the haunting curse of Rent's blight. Ugh. , according to Miss Savage, the contract between you should be so strong that it will be mistaken for a knight's oath - but Mr. Wright has no malice towards you, and you are strong enough. So the abyss magic brought by the contract only exists in Your body will not be used by you, nor will it harm you."

    Medith draws a huge horn next to the circle representing Oliver's power.

    That's actually the Knight's Oath, Nemo thought bitterly. Smart people are sometimes prone to overthinking, which just saves them the energy to make crappy excuses.

    "Although the power brought by the demon contract is very strong, under the premise that your father's power seals Trent's blight, the two abyss magic powers are separated and live in peace. Your heart was destroyed in Blight Castle, and the sudden change caused your father's power to fluctuate suddenly, giving priority to healing your heart. During this period, the curse of blight slipped out and ran into Mr. Wright's head-on. strength."

    Meders crossed her heart.

    "As it stands, Mr. Wright's power devours the blight's curse, and then continues to live with your power. In the absence of the curse, Flint's power Your heart is completely healed, and the rest is all fused into your own power."

    He drew a line between the two circles.

    "To be honest, the mutual devouring of the abyss magic is very scary. That is, your physical fitness is good, and the combined strength of you and Flint is very impressive, allowing you to support the devouring brought The side effect of this - now you should have only Mr. Wright's harmless power, and your power that has swallowed Flint's remaining power."

    "But this method can't be used for that little girl." Medes sighed, "I said at the beginning that drug suppression is another way. Drugs did not completely block the power of the curse , at most, to delay the spread of the curse. Her heart is beating on her own strength, and the curse has already spread to some extent, and Flint's method can no longer be used."

    "What about sending in some of the abyss?" Nemo asked.

    He is the origin of the abyss magic, and there should be no side effect of the so-called "devouring each other".

    "Even if you make a contract with that little girl now, she will die first because she can't bear your power. Miss Savage told me that the girl's magical talent is very ordinary. Her curse has spread, and your power swept through her guts enough to kill her."

    "Then..."

    "There is a way." Meders quickly wrote the calculation, "Since the girl is already taking medicine, we can solve this problem from the point of view of medicine. Mr. Wright is a living demon, with too much power Too pure. But if Oliver can survive in this form, it means that there is a prescription that can be precisely controlled and weakened, while also guaranteed to consume the curse."

    Ann stopped breathing nervously.

    "Bone Jade and Dragon's Breath Stone." This time it was Adrian who spoke.

    "Yes." Meders glanced at Adrian in surprise, "Dragon Breath Stone contains pure surface magic, and the abyss magic of bone jade contains the power of the source. The power of the bone jade can be quantified, as long as the bone jade is treated with a large amount of dragon breath stone, and its power is processed to a level that a mortal can accept, it can be taken as a medicine - to ensure that its power and the power of the curse are evenly matched Just fine."

    "So we need to get some bones," An said dryly.

    "I have the dragon's breath stone here, absolutely enough. But I need the bone jade and the blood of the girl." Meders wrote a whole page of parchment, using a feather to force the end of the calculation twice. "Should work."

    An sighed heavily and bowed: "I see, thank you. I need to discuss with my companions."

    Everyone squeezed out of the narrow stone door one by one and returned to the corridor. Jesse gave a huge yawn.

    "Alban has enough bone jade." Straight to the point, "but they are all stored in extremely deep underground, and the outermost is set up with a magic circle that needs to be confirmed by the royal blood. It has nothing to do with everyone's strength, if you untie it, it will definitely attract the attention of the prince - when he finds it, we are still going underground, so we will definitely be caught."

    "But since you said it anyway, it means you have other thoughts on this matter." Jesse shook the half-conscious parrot.

    "Yes, it may take a long time and a lot of effort. But if I can find a way to explore the storage room of the bone jade, Nemo, your space-ripping skill...if you get it The exact coordinates should be available."

    "Yes."

    "Well, I will find a way to sneak into the palace and figure it out as soon as possible." Ann's expression was very solemn, "At least within this month, I will get the coordinates."

    "It won't take a month," Nemo said cautiously, trying to shake Abbas' death out of his head and look into Ann's eyes. "As long as Delia is willing to cooperate, one day is enough."

    "No, you don't understand. We can't contact Delia under the Prince's watch. And I've heard from family members that the storage room is very..."

    "It's okay," Nemo said. "Actually, last time we sneaked into the palace, I left something."

    "What?"

    "A cat's whisker."

    The next night, Delia was leaning near the entrance pretending to be lost, while Catbeard wandered happily in the bone storage room. Relying on the positioning of the cat's beard, Nemo successfully split the space and successfully reached the storage room.

    According to Ann, he should see rows of uncarved bone jade - they should have been like opaque clusters of white crystals, properly placed in soft circles embroidered with countless circles pad.

    But he saw only one thing.

    Nemo saw this thing, in Wither Castle. He even destroyed one.

    A row of ribs jade bombs lay quietly on the clip, exuding a suffocating chill. Nemo swallowed, carefully stretched out the shadow, and began to recklessly pour the information on all the paper products in the room into his brain.

    …he knew the task would not end so easily.